It's the Philosopher's stone, Charlie Brown
by Tiger lover 16
Summary: Charlie Brown never thought he was special in any way. Until he discovers that he is, in fact, a wizard. Now Charlie Brown and most of his friends are off to Hogwarts to learn magic, cause chaos and fight to prevent the return of the evil Lord Voldemort.
1. You're a wizard Charlie Brown

**Tiger lover 16: Hello to everyone who reads Peanuts fanfiction. This story is something I just couldn't get out of my head recently, and whenever I tried writing about some of my other stories, thoughts of this story just kept getting in the way, so of course I just had to write it. I notice there aren't a lot of Peanuts-Harry Potter crossovers, so I don't have to worry too much about originality. Now before I begin, let me just say this is my first time writing for the Peanuts gang so please don't get mad if I didn't do a perfect job with everyone, I'm trying to write everyone in character for this story, but certain plot points will require some OOC moments. Plus, everyone's three years older for the magority of this story, with Charlie Brown and the magority of the cast being eleven and Linus and Sally being ten, so they should be at least somewhat different by now. There's also going to be several differences from the strip and animated specials, particularly with the characters birthdays and ages, but hopefully you'll be okay with that. It also takes some of it's more dramatic tones from Harry Potter, my drama's not very good though, so bear with me. Well, that's all for now, enjoy the chapter.**

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><p><strong>Prologue: You're a wizard, Charlie Brown<strong>

Charlie Brown leaned against his usual hangout, the wall. As usual, he was here thinking over his life and worrying over whatever was on his mind. But today it wasn't failure to win a baseball game that was bothering him. Nor was it his misconception that nobody liked him or that he wasn't good at anything. What bothered Charlie Brown was something... something a bit more unusual.

It had started the previous day. Things seemed to start out normally for Charlie Brown, he'd got out of bed, fell down the stairs, fed Snoopy, had breakfast, finished Sally's homework for her and left for school. The strangeness started when he ran into Lucy Van Pelt in the park. She was making her annual attempt to get him to kick her football, and as always Charlie Brown fell for her tricks. As Lucy pulled the ball away and Charlie Brown flew into the air however, something peculiar happened.

In the brief moment he was in the air, Charlie Brown lamented how he had been tricked once again and, remembering the back pain he'd suffered from all his previous football incidents, Charlie prayed he could just land on his feet for once. And you know what? He did.

Charlie Brown had no idea what happened, but for that brief instance before landing his body just seemed to stop in mid air and he was pushed forward, so that he landed clean on his feet. Lucy had seen this and was certain she was having hallucinations, so ran off to splash her face with water.

How did that happen? How did Charlie Brown manage to land safely on his feet, when every other time Lucy had pulled the football away he'd landed on his back. Though he was always determined to succeed at something and never gave up, Charlie Brown never succeeded at anything, and he knew it. The thought drove him to the point of depression, so that his confidence almost ceased to exist. But somehow, in this one instance, he'd got lucky. Charlie Brown got lucky! He never got lucky, never. Something was seriously wrong.

It was not two hours before the next strange incident occured. Via his usual misfortune, Charlie Brown had managed to knock over a small tree, which fell in a puddle of mud, splattering local mean girls Violet and Patty with the filthy substance. And despite his attempts to explain himself, Charlie Brown was chased all over town by the angry girls.

As he ran, Charlie Brown kept his eyes closed. How many times had he been chased by people he considered his friends, how many times! And if they caught him, Patty and Violet would show no mercy, he'd be beaten to a pulp. How he wished he could get out of there, how he wished he could get to safety. And when he opened his eyes, he saw... a chimney?

Defying all logic, Charlie Brown found himself stuck on the roof of Linus and Lucy's house, and was stuck there for half the afernoon until Rerun came by and set the ladder up for him.

"Just how did you get up there?" Rerun had asked. Charlie Brown would have liked to know that for himself. It just didn't make sense, one moment he was running along the street to avoid Violet and Patty, the next he was on a roof. There was no way he could have run up the side of the wall, and he certainly hadn't done any climbing. So just how did he get up there?

Charlie Brown went home that night feeling more confused and worried than ever before, and that was saying a lot for him. He couldn't sleep, not for one second, because every time he closed his eyes he thought, how did he land so safely, why did he seem to stop in mid-air and move forward, and how the heck did he get on that roof?

When the clock rang the next morning Charlie Brown ended up knocking it off his bedside cabinet, causing it to smash against the floor. He didn't care, he was just too tired to care.

After being nagged half to death by his sister Sally, who was outraged that she'd earned only a C- on her homework, Charlie Brown trudged out of the house, mustering all his strength to walk in his tired state.

As it was a Saturday Charlie Brown did not have school, so had sought out Linus to discuss the odd events that had been occuring. Linus was usually the most philosophical of Charlie Brown's friends, he always gave great advice and would surely be able to solve the mystery of what was happening to Charlie Brown. At least, that's what he'd thought, but after hearing a full account of each incident, Linus was stumped by the illogical acts.

And it was not long before the third bizzare event took place. While passing by a tree in the park, Charlie Brown and Linus met up with their good friends Peppermint Patty and Marcie.

Deciding he didn't want to talk more about yesterdays events, Charlie Brown instead got caught up in discussions about baseball and had to listen to Peppermint Patty brag about her team's victory over his, while Marcie simultaniously tried to cheer him up, pointing out how he hadn't done TOO badly. During a brief moment where they were left alone, Peppermint Patty and Charlie Brown sat under the tree and discussed that strange concept called love. As usual, it ended with Charlie Brown saying the wrong thing and Patty yelling "Chuck, you drive me crazy!"

Sadly, Charlie Brown's normal morning ended there. Snoopy had showed up in the park in his flying ace persona and, seemingly mistaking them for German soldiers, had gotten into a fight with two local bullies named Joe Agate and Thibault. Both boys rounded on Charlie Brown, and during the argument they turned their attention to insulting Charlie Brown's friends and, do to her intense arguing, had ended up threatening Peppermint Patty.

The local tomboy encouraged Charlie Brown to stand up to the bullies, and after a bit more taunting demanded he slug them. Though Charlie Brown wanted of all things to avoid a fight, Joe Agate and Thibault seemed all up to the idea and prepared to strike him. Charlie Brown panicked and covered his face, hoping some miracle would save him.

And that was when it happened. A split second before Joe could land a punch on Charlie Brown he suddenly froze in place and, after a moment of awkward silence, was sent flying through the air by some invisible force, along with Thibault. The duo landed in the kite eating tree, which mistook them for kites and tried to gobble them up. They were alright, the tree spit them back out when it realised how awful they tasted.

How did that happen? How the h### did that happen? Charlie Brown left without another word, not stopping to respond to his friends calls for him to come back.

And that's where we are now, at the wall, where Charlie Brown pondered over what had been happening to him. These were no mere coincidences, his landing safely after missing the football, his sudden appearance on the roof and Thibault and Joe Agate's flight into the kite eating tree. Charlie Brown couldn't understand why these things were happening, all he could work out was that they all seemed to happen at a moment when he was scared for his life.

He worried he'd break his neck landing on his back, he lands on his feet instead. He gets chased by two angry girls, he finds himself sanctuary on a roof. He gets attacked by bullies, they're thrown backwards through the air. How could this be happening, none of this should be happening. It just didn't make sense.

"You ok Charlie Brown?" Linus appeared by his best friends side, Charlie Brown grunted to show he'd heard "You're confused about what's happening to you, aren't you"

"Yes, yes I am confused Linus" Charlied Brown nodded sadly "I just don't understand. Everything that's been happening lately is just too weird to put into words. I want to know what's going on, but I haven't the slightest clue. I'm scared Linus, I'm really scared"

"I can tell. But there's no use worrying Charlie Brown, if you worry you won't be able to think straight and you'll never figure out anything" Linus said smartly.

"I know, but even if I wasn't worried I still probably couldn't work it out. I mean, these things that happened are just plain impossible" Charlie Brown stressed, Linus couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"I agree with you that these three things that happened may seem impossible, but there's got to be a logical explanation for them, there just has to be" Linus said in a would-be-firm voice.

"If there is, then you should figure it out, because I can't" Charlie Brown said, slumping his head miserably against the wall. Linus hummed, deep in thought.

"Well, I suppose your landing seems the most understandable. You said you felt like you stopped in the air and that your body was pulled forward so that you landed on your feet. Well, what if you only imagined that part, and it was simply a lucky landing" Linus said confidently.

"No, it certainly felt that way. I could just feel my body hanging there above the ground, and Lucy saw it happen and she was shocked" Charlie Brown pointed out unenthusiastically.

"Yeah, but she said she might have been seeing things" Linus replied, and after another moment of thinking "Well, I'm not sure about the roof. But you said you had your eyes closed, maybe you did climb up but you did it self-consciously and you didn't notice"

"Then where were Patty and Violet when I was on the roof, they were nowhere near your house when they were chasing me, I didn't see them again all day" Said Charlie Brown, Linus could think of no good answer to that.

"Well... moving on to Joe Agate and Thibault. Well-" Linus hesitated, he seemed at a loss for words "... ... Maybe... well, maybe they just got hit by a strong wind?"

"I didn't feel any wind, did you, Peppermint Patty or Marcie feel the wind when it happened?" Charlie Brown asked, knowing the answer.

"I know this is strange Charlie Brown, but when you think about it, none of what's happened has been all that bad" Linus said hopefully, and in response to Charlie Brown's quizzical look he added "All these occurances seem to have happened at a time when you were feeling scared, and each time you managed to get out of trouble. So, while these events define physics and are nerve-racking to think about, in the end they work to your advantage"

Linus had hoped that would cheer Charlie Brown up a bit, and to his surprise, it actually did. But only a little bit.

"Maybe you've got a point there Linus, maybe I shouldn't be so worried about whatever's going on. I get into some kind of trouble almost every day and I'm always hurting myself, it might be nice to have whatever strange force is doing all this to watch my back" Charlie Brown said optomistically... but then his grief returned in full force "But I'd still like to know why it's all happening. And after what just happened to Joe and Thibault, I don't want the same thing to happen to everyone else I know. And what if things suddenly change, and I get off much worse next time"

"Charlie Brown, I can honestly say I haven't got a clue" Linus replied gently "Just try not to think about it too much, maybe if you just ignore it and go about your daily life, these weird occurances will stop"

That's what Charlie Brown had been hoping for when he got out of bed this morning, for everything to go back to normal. But it didn't stop, and if his hunch was correct, it wasn't going to.

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><p>Charlie Brown's hunch proved to be more than correct, but rather an indisputable fact.<p>

After a few normal days, Charlie Brown had convinced Lucy to once again hold the football for him. The second before his foot could make contact however, she pulled it away and Charlie Brown went flying through the air. But unlike the last time he wasn't suddenly stopped and pulled to his feet, he landed on his back as normal.

After profoundly thanking Lucy, much to her confusion, Charlie Brown skipped off to celebrate his return to a normal, boring and lonely life.

However, while crossing the street he had absentmindedly forgot to look both ways and was nearly hit by a large truck. Charlie Brown froze like a deer in the headlights, fearing this was the end. But rather than run him over, the truck flew over him.

Now I know that sounds weird, but it's true. One moment Charlie Brown had been standing there waiting to be crushed, the next moment the truck suddenly lost contact with the road and floated over his head. The driver had clearly felt this effect, becaue within the next minute he had crashed into the side of a building and was chased down the street by a woman with a rolling pin.

"Flying trucks" Charlie Brown moaned "Good grief, what's next?"

And the weirdness only increased as time went on. Within the next three months Charlie Brown had performed a five hundred foot jump in gym class after his gym teacher threatened to make him run a thousand laps if he didn't at least get to the one mark this time. Another time he had been eating lunch with Linus and PigPen when Joe Agate, still sore about his flight into the kite eating tree, demanded his lunch. Charlie Brown meekly complied, and after enduring many rude remarks from the pathetic bully, his peanut butter and tuna sandwich exploded right in Joe's face. Linus and Pigpen exchanged glances and burst out laughing. It was this event that taught Charlie Brown these instances were also triggered by anger.

Another time in Gym, Charlie Brown had been forced to climb the high rope. Shockingly, Charlie Brown had managed to make it near the top, but in his excitement to ring the bell and impress his classmates, in particular the Little Red Haired girl, he had goofed it up and fell a great way down to the floor. But what saved him this time was not him landing on his feet, but rather the floor felt as soft as a cushion when he hit it, and he didn't get a scratch. Now that certainly fascinated his peers, just not in the way he had intended.

"This is starting to become too much" Charlie Brown complained to his friends one day, some months on. Besides Linus, Charlie Brown had also told Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Pigpen, Sally and Schroeder about his odd predicament. None of them had believed him at first, but over time they had all bared witness to his miracles.

"I don't see why you're complaining Charlie Brown, with the luck you're used to having I'm surprised you're not happy with all this good fortune" Schroeder had been the first to say.

"I am kinda glad I'm not suffering so much, it's the uncertainty that's bothering me" Charlie Brown replied, holding his head in his hands.

"I must admit, in all the time I've had to contemplate these events, I cannot find a reasonable explanation for them" Marcie said thoughtfully. She had indeed tried to figure it out, she and Linus had worked almost non stop to come up with just a single explanation for what had been happening to Charlie Brown.

"So then why not try an unreasonable explanation" Peppermint Patty suggested, to odd looks from the rest of the group "What, I'm just saying is all"

"Actually, there is something I've considered-but it's absolute nonsense" Marcie replied, Charlie Brown's head shot out of his hands when he heard this comment.

"What is it, what?" Charlie Brown asked, delighted at the chance to solve his mystery. Marcie looked somewhat embarrased.

"Well... it's really not very realistic Charles, but... these things keep happening when you're either frightened or frustrated, which I think we can all admit is common for you. And as these instances all seem to work to your favour and seem to defy the laws of reality, I thought..." Marcie paused, clearly uncertain she should finish that sentence, but her friends faces begged her to continue "I thought, perhaps... these occurances are all a result of some supernatural power you possess, which you have only just begun to tap into"

Marcie was clearly expecting everyone to laugh and ridicule her suggestion, but it came as a surprise when they all looked thoughtful, as though they considered this a perfectly reasonable answer.

"Well, that is a crazy idea Marcie... but it's the best any of us have come up with" Said Peppermint Patty, to approving nods from the others.

Supernatural powers? Good grief, how was he supposed to come to terms with that idea. While his friends had fun coming up with wild theories about how and why Charlie Brown would have super powers, such as him being an alien, a super hero or a "Time lord" (Wonder if anybody gets that reference) Charlie Brown just sat there motionless.

Powers, yeah right. How could he, Charlie Brown, the most unextraordinary, most unconfident and useless, and downright wishy washy child in the entire third grade, and probably the world, have any sort of special powers. If he was some sort of supernatural being, then why couldn't he fly a kite, why couldn't his team win a baseball game, why couldn't he ever talk to the Little Red Haired girl, and WHY couldn't he kick a football? It just didn't add up, he wasn't special, there wasn't anything supernatural about him, he was just a sad little boy, unable to accomplish anything. There was no way he could have any kind of powers.

And yet...what other explanation was there for all these events. What else was there for him to believe...

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><p>Charlie Brown groaned as he got out of bed and slipped into the bathroom to prepare for the day. He wasn't looking forward to going to school, what with his friends insistance that he was a super powered entity and their wanting to "Test the extent of his abilities"<p>

Charlie Brown sighed as he splashed his face, cooling himself off. Most kids would have been thrilled at the prospect of having super powers, but Charlie Brown only considered it another reason to worry.

"It couldn't be, it just couldn't be" Charlie Brown tried to reassure himself, but to no avail. Charlie Brown looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. If there was one thing about his appearance that filled him with self-doubt, it was his head. He had always had a peculiarly shaped head, when he was about four it had been shaped more like a football, but nowadays it had taken on a round shape, which was just as weird.

And his hair, it was practically nonexistent. Of course he did have hair, but it was so short and light that it just seemed to blend in with his skin, making him appear bald. A bald eight-year old, how weird was that.

Charlie Brown looked downhearted at his weird cranium, and thought he noticed something strange on his forehead. He whipped his seemingly invisible hair out of the way, and saw a scar shaped like a lightning bolt.

Now this was an interesting thing about Charlie Brown that no-one ever saw. For as long as he could remember, he'd had that scar, that oddly shaped cut across his forehead, though it was always hidden under his hair, so that he looked like he had a normal, unscratched, bald head.

Charlie Brown had never known what to think of this scar, he'd had it for as long as he could remember. He'd always assumed he'd fell over as a baby and banged his head against a fireplace or something, it was just his sort of luck. But that could not explain why it was shaped so much like a bolt of lightning. He'd never asked his parents about it either, he was sure they would know but something always stopped him from asking them.

Charlie Brown didn't really dislike this scar, it had quite an unusual shape and was pretty unique as far as he knew. But he rarely paid much attention to it, and he kept it hidden so no-one asked him questions about it, because he could never answer them

What was the meaning of this scar. Charlie Brown found himself wondering that question for the first time in years as he left the house, and for a wild moment, he thought maybe, just maybe it had something to do with his "Powers"

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><p>For the rest of the year, Charlie Brown's powers continued to get out of hand in dire situations. Apart from turning Snoopy's dog house into a fighter plane (Snoopy was delighted, but there's no time to go into the details of that misadventure) and blasting the kite eating tree with lightning bolts from clouds that seemed to appear from nowhere, Charlie Brown had also made several attempts to make himself angry, to see if these events were really powers he possessed and because his sister Sally wanted him to learn to control them so she could use him for show and tell. The average result was his house falling down.<p>

But as his tenth birthday passed by, Charlie Brown's concern with these powers of his had died down a bit. He was already so used to landing safely from a great fall or Violet's mouth somehow zipping itself shut that it hardly surprised him or any of his friends anymore. He had also long since come to the conclusion that he simply couldn't describe how his powers worked, so he no longer worried over how they worked, which did him a lot of emotional good.

Now when I say that, I don't mean Charlie Brown felt any better off than when he was eight. He was still a loser at just about everything and still held the misconception that nobody really liked him. He hadn't changed one bit. But then again, no-one else had either.

But there were more surprises to come.

One fine spring day Charlie Brown was walking Snoopy in the park. Today the lovable pooch was doing an impression of a rhinoceros, and was charging and bumping everything and everyone in sight, much to the ire of the local kids. It was as Snoopy finally ended this cherade and instead started performing a tapdance while Woodstock whistled "Hello my honey" That Charlie Brown saw Schroeder and Lucy walk by, deep in argument.

"I simply can not believe you did that to my piano" Schroeder said sternly to Lucy, who was at her highest level of anger. A pretty scary sight for Charlie Brown to behold.

"For the last time Schroder, I DID NOT SET YOUR PIANO ON FIRE! IT DID THAT BY ITSELF!" Lucy screamed so loud it knocked Schroeder to the ground. The Beethoven enthusiast picked himself up and stood firm.

"Well how do you explain what just happened, huh. I know you don't like how much attention I pay to my piano, this is exactly the sort of thing you would do" Schroder said accusingly.

"Check my pockets, you see any matches, you see a lighter, you see anything at all that could have caused a fire? Sure, I threw a fit over you ignoring me in favour of your stupid music, but HOW could I have lit your piano on fire?" Lucy protested, the look on Schroder's face showed that while he grudgingly agreed with her logic, he refused to admit it and still felt Lucy to be guilty.

"I don't know, maybe you have the same weird abilities as Charlie Brown" Said Schroeder. It was just under a year ago when Charlie Brown and friends had decided to let Lucy in on the secret. Naturally Lucy laughed her head off and declared Charlie Brown too much of a blockhead to possess supernatural powers. But she changed her mind after seeing Charlie Brown accidentally turn her hair blue for a day. She wasn't the only one though, by now every member of the Peanuts gang knew of Charlie Brown's powers.

"Well... maybe I do" Lucy said with a sinister smirk that made Schroeder shudder in fear. "Maybe I do have powers. And if I do, you better start paying a lot more attention to me if you know what's good for you"

Only Lucy could make such threats to the person she loved beyond all else, but Schroeder was prepared for her worst and replied with his usual sarcasm "And maybe Charlie Brown will marry the Little Red Haired girl"

"I'm right here" Charlie Brown said dejected, walking away as Schroeder tried awkwardly to apologise.

"It's not like he's not right you know!" Lucy had called.

So Lucy had set Schroeder's piano on fire. Or at least, that's what Schroder claimed happened. If that were true, then could she really, seriously have the same reality-defying power as Charlie Brown.

'Good grief I hope not, just think of all the torment she'd put me through' Charlie Brown thought miserably.

After collecting Snoopy, who had garnered a small fortune in change from people watching his dance, Charlie Brown set off to visit his dad at the barber shop. He hadn't done that in a while, and he didn't have any other plans for the day, so why not.

He was about to open the door when an ear-splitting scream erupted from inside the barber shop and the door swung open to smack Charlie Brown right in the face. When Charlie Brown recovered from the shock, he saw Freida emerge from the shop. At least, he thought it was Freida. He had trouble recognising her because her naturally curly hair was almost completely missing from her head, save for a few curls on the sides of her head.

"Charlie Brown, look what your dumb dad did to my naturally curly hair!" Freida screamed when she saw him.

"Oh... I'm really sorry Freida, I-"

"Oh, you're sorry! What about my hair? I can't go around looking like this, without my beautiful curls I look like a freak" Freida cried, patting the top of her shaven head. After a moments weeping she gave Charlie Brown a furious look and held him up by the collar "You blockhead, I oughta slug you for this!"

"Wait, please, I didn't do anything!" Charlie Brown yelled urgently, Freida glared up at him for a brief moment before her expression softened and she let him go. It was not normal to see Freida so angry, usually she was one of the nicest girls among Charlie Brown's group of friends, and the only one after Peppermint Patty and Marcie to treat him with proper respect.

"I'm sorry Charlie Brown, it's just that... i love my curly hair, not many people have naturally curly hair you know, and I've always felt special for having it. But now, I just look plain stupid with this horrible haircut" Freida explained, looking quite as sad as Charlie Brown so often was "And, honestly, without my curls, who am I?"

"You're Freida, a friend of mine and the rest of the Peanuts, and outfielder on our baseball team" Charlie Brown said, hoping it was sufficient enough to cheer her up.

"That doesn't make me feel any better!"

Evidently not, as she ran off crying that very moment. Charlie Brown sighed, wishing he'd done better to help his friend.

Charlie Brown, with Linus there to help give a more convincing pep talk, tried to talk to Freida again later on, but she refused to leave her house. Everyone from Peppermint Patty to Violet to Shermy had tried to get her to come out so they could cheer her up, but Freida chose to wallow in her misery.

"Boy, your dad's a bigger blockhead than you are Charlie Brown" Violet and Patty said in unison, Charlie Brown sighed and decided to call it a day.

But the next day at school, Charlie Brown and all his friends, minus Peppermint Patty, Marcie and Franklin, who went to a different school, were gathered together, ready for an intervention with Freida to tell her it didn't matter if she was nearly bald and convince her that she was a great person even without her curls ("Why does nobody ever go to this much trouble for me?" Charlie Brown asked himself) When Freida walked through the gates... stroking her curls!

"Hello everyone, how's it going?" Freida asked cheerfully, everyone's mouths were touching the floor.

"F-freida, your... your curls" Sally spluttered, Freida grinned broadly.

"Oh, what about them?" Freida asked in a sweetly innocent voice.

"Good heavens Freida, how'd your hair grow back so fast" Patty asked in disbelief, Freida simply shrugged.

"Haven't a clue, I just woke up this morning, dreading going to school with a nearly bald head and putting up with everyone teasing me, and I found my naturally curly hair had been magically restored. Isn't that amazing!" Freida practically shrieked with joy. Her friends stared dumbfounded at her for a little while before turning to Charlie Brown.

"It wasn't me this time, I swear" Charlie Brown said quickly.

"So then how in the name of the Great Pumpkin did Freida's hair grow back overnight?" Violet asked. There was a collected hum, but none of them had time to conceive of an answer before the bell rang and they were forced to return to class.

So how did Freida's hair grow back. Charlie Brown was unable to hear anything the teacher said all day because he spent so long pondering that question. Had it been his fault after all, he remembered feeling terribly guilty last night for his fathers mistake in cutting Freida's hair, could he perform acts of absurdity just by feeling guilty. At this point nothing would surprise him.

Or had Freida's hair growth been a result of... no, no this was crazy. He was just being paranoid, that's all. Just because he, Charlie Brown, was having a problem with super natural powers didn't mean everyone else would. Schroeder's piano catching fire must have just been a coincidence, and it probably was down to him how Freida's hair grew back. Even if his so-called-powers could be used by other people, it seemed unlikely that two of his friends would develop his abnormality so suddenly. Yes, Charlie Brown thought, this was just a coincidence.

Or was it?

As the days went by, more weird events took place. On monday morning, Pigpen had accidentally ran into Violet when turning a corner and got her covered in his filth. Furious, Violet screamed that she was tired of Pigpen's dirtyness and that he should just get clean. Charlie Brown had been watching from a distance, he turned his head to see Violet storm off and when he looked at Pigpen again, he was squeaky clean. Squeak clean.

Pigpen screamed in horror when he realised his prescious filth had abandoned him, but calmed when Charlie Brown and Linus reminded him it would return shortly, dirt was magnetically attracted to Pigpen. So you can imagine the surprise when, throughout the entire day, Pigpen failed to gather up so much as one speck of dust. He even tried rolling in a mud puddle to get his dirt back, but it just slipped off of him. It was safe to call this the worst day of Pigpen's life, though thankfully his dirt magnetism seemed to return the next day.

While Pigpen was celebrating the return of his filth, to the annoyance of Violet and Patty, Peppermint Patty was having a usual dull day at her own school. While normally she just managed to sleep through most of her lessons due to insomnia, which Marcie claimed was caused by her staying up all night "Contemplating her true feelings for Charles", today Peppermint Patty was forced to keep herself awake for a big test.

"Isn't it enough they make us do work every day all year long, why do they force us to sit down and try to muster everything we've already started to forget into writing a test" Patty had complained before entering the school, Marcie had attempted to console her friend, but nothing she said seemed to brighten Patty's mood, and she knew nothing would.

Unfortunately for Patricia, she found the test exceedingly difficult. While having to muster all her strength to not fall off into the land of sweet dreams, she also had to work out some of the hardest questions she's been given in her life, which gave her a headache. That, coupled with the annoying noises made by several of her classmates and the constant scratching of pens on paper. Why, with all that stress it was a miracle she didn't faint. The only thing that kept her from screaming her head off was that she was biting down hard on her arm, which was bound to start bleeding any minute now.

After half her hour was up, Peppermint Patty had only managed to write the answers to two questions, and she wasn't even sure they were right. Eventually she couldn't take it any more and threw a quick fit, slamming her pen down on her desk and moaning about how the test couldn't just write itself.

"Well, tests can't do that" Marcie had said.

Well, maybe tests can't write themselves, but apparently pens can write them just fine on their own. While Peppermint Patty stared up at the ceiling, attempting to vent some of her frustration, her pen sprang to life and began filling in answers on the test paper by itself. It was five minutes until the test was set to finish when Peppermint Patty looked down to see her pen writing on it's own, the shock caused her to forget her anger. At the exact same time the pen dropped back down on the desk, lifeless.

Somehow none of Patty's classmates had seen the pen write the A graded test by itself, but Peppermint Patty went into great detail about it to Charlie Brown when they next met under the tree in the park.

And things only got crazier from there. On Wednesday afternoon, Marcie had somehow turned her's and Patty's hair into rainbow wigs. On Thursday morning Linus had managed to make Lucy float high into the air, leaving her stuck floating for five minutes until he managed to rescue her. Later that same day Schroeder had turned his toy piano into a giant grand piano and Sally had turned Snoopy's fur green. Snoopy used this as an excuse to play the green giant. And then on Friday, regular Patty caused Shermy's close to turn invisible in the lunchroom (She wasn't complaining) and Pigpen had converted the classroom into a giant mud bath. Somehow, that last one was the only thing that seemed to make sense to anyone.

"This is getting to be rediculous" Charlie Brown commented. He and the other 10 Peanuts members who had been experiencing the absurdity that was spreading about had gathered together at the wall to discuss their experiences.

"So let's review" Lucy began, clutching a clipboard "Freida can regrow her hair after it's been cut, I can set things on fire, Violet can make things stay clean for a day, Peppermint Patty can bring pens to life, Marcie turns hair into rainbow wigs-lucky for you two that was reversed-Schroeder makes things into bigger versions of themselves, Linus leaves me floating in the air-I still need to slug you for that one by the way-Sally turns dogs green, Pigpen turns the ground to mud, of course, and Patty makes clothes disappear"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it... so far" Freida said not quite certainly.

"I think we're forgetting that Chuck can do about a million other things by himself" Peppermint Patty pointed out.

"Oh yeah, there's that" Lucy said disinterested, scribbling notes on her clipboard.

"So does anyone think they know a reason all this is happening to us?" Marcie asked. The looks on everyones faces told her it wasn't worth asking.

"Good grief, all I want to do with my life is follow in the foot steps of Beethoven, I really don't need all this to worry about" Schroeder moaned.

"Schroeder, is that all you ever think about, Beethoven?" Lucy asked indignantly.

"No" Schroeder replied, and Lucy perked up a bit "Sometimes I think about Brahms"

As Lucy slumped over in disapointment, Pigpen scratched his head and said "It is pretty weird how all of us can suddenly develop such unusual powers in such a short time. Do you think maybe it's contagious?"

"I hardly think a supernatural phenomenon such as those we are experiencing can be passed on in that way" Linus said shaking his head.

"You're so smart my sweet baboo" Sally said with hearts for eyes.

"I'm NOT your sweet baboo!" Linus yelled indignantly, to much eye rolling from his friends.

"Even at the most innapropriate times, Sally manages to slip in something about how she loves Linus" Patty whispered to Violet, who was too busy frowning at Charlie Brown to hear her.

"I don't think it's fair" Violet said from out of the blue, attracting everyone's attention "How come you get so many different powers Charlie Brown while we only have one each? What makes YOU of all people deserve the most powers?"

"Oh good grief" Charlie Brown mumbled.

"I'm sure we can all do more than one thing, we just haven't tried" Marcie said in Charlie Brown's defense.

"Great idea Marcie, let's all try to use our powers to do something cool" Peppermint Patty announced.

"But sir, I didn't say-"

"Marcie, could you please stop calling me sir?" Peppermint Patty asked, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

Peppermint Patty's suggestion to try and access all of their hidden powers drew mixed reation, some like Lucy and Sally were quite eager to do so while others, like Charlie Brown and Linus, were sure it would be a bad idea.

"I don't know guys, we don't even know what these powers of ours are and there's no telling what could happen if we start messing about with them. I think it would be for the best if we just try to ignore them and go about life like normal" Charlie Brown said reasonably. Unfortunately, his pleas fell on death ears and Lucy was already planning on how she would take advantage of her abilities.

"Ok everyone, insult me" Lucy said to the group, everyone stared at her oddly.

"What did you say?" They all asked at once.

"Well, as you all know by now, our powers are triggered by fear and aggression. I want to be the first to test my power, whatever it is, to it's limits. And since it would be reckless to put my life in danger just to scare myself, I want you all to hit me with your best shots and make me MAD" Lucy explained with a mad gleam in her eye.

Wicked grins spread across many members of the gangs faces, most of the Peanuts had good reason to want to badmouth Lucy. She'd caused them all so much grief over the years that they dreamed of bemoaning her, but were not crazy enough to do it under normal circumstances. But when presented with as golden an opportunity as this, how could they refuse.

"Oh, well in that case" Schroeder began innocently, then turned nasty "You're a whiny, stupid, selfish, greedy, hideous (Censored bleep) and I hate you!"

Lucy's face turned a dangerous shade of red and steam was practically shooting out of her ears. Everyone covered their eyes, waiting for the moment when Lucy would break Schroeder's spine. But of course she didn't, on the contrary she gave Schroeder a smile as wide as the Cheshire cat's.

"Good, very good" Lucy grumbled, her voice filled with venom. Now that they knew it was really safe to do so, the rest of the gang joined in.

"You're voice is as loud as a bull horn and as shrill as a banshee, and your face looks like it was pulled off of Pigpen's shoe" Violet berated, giant vein's popped up on Lucy's forehead and her fists clenched, but her grin grew ever wider.

"Yes, yes keep going. I can feel the rage!" Lucy punched a fist into the air as she yelled this, and Charlie Brown thought he felt a vibration from the wall.

"You're the worlds worst excuse for a sister! You can't say anything nice, you treat me like dirt and you're an outright witch" Linus said, and when he noticed it didn't do much to raise Lucy's anger he added "And it was me who broke your Ipod"

"YOU WHAT!" Lucy bellowed in a voice that rattled every roof and shook the earth. With her current look of fury, the time was surely upon them.

"You're as dumb as a mule, uglier than a disfigured toad and you're as nasty as a hungry jackal"

"You have the sensitivity of a leach and you're face makes me sick!"

"You're as dirty on the inside as I am on the outside"

Now those were just the very mild insults, the worst of them were so bad I'd be banned from this site for writing them. I'm not kidding people, they were that harsh. And Lucy, she looked like she was ready to murder every single one of her friends, but she didn't. After everyone else had had a chance to verbally abuse her (Some more than others) Lucy, her face redder than a tomato and filled with utmost fury, turned on the one person who had kept quiet, Charlie Brown.

"Well Charlie Brown. Don't you have anything to say?" Lucy asked in a falsely sweet voice. All eyes were on Charlie Brown, how long had they anticipated this moment, how long had they toyed with the idea that Charlie Brown would finally talk back to Lucy, to get back at her for all those years of abuse, to insult her.

"Um... well... well I..." Charlie Brown hesitated, he had no idea what to say. Sure, there were plenty of things he COULD say to Lucy, but he didn't want to. It just wouldn't be in his character to mock someone. But everyone was staring at him, their eyes imploring him to follow through. And, deep, deep down, a small, tiny, insignificant part of him was longing to make her feel as bad as he always did.

"Well, go ahead Charlie Brown" Lucy said, batting her eyelashes cutely "I'm waiting"

"Go on Charlie Brown, insult her" Linus encouraged, feeling only a little bit guilty.

"Yeah Charlie Brown, let her have it"

"She just needs one little push, go for it Chuck"

"Well" Charlie Brown took a deep breath, puffed up his chest, and "I guess you're... not a very nice person"

Silence. There was complete, absolute silence. No one moved, no one spoke, nobody made even the slightest noise or gave the slightest clue that they were alive, and not just statues. All the colour had drained from Lucy's face, her previous rage replaced with uncertainty. Charlie Brown stared quizzically at his friends and especially to Lucy. The normally crabby girl just stared at him in wonder for what felt like an eternity. Then, finally-

**"THAT'S IT!"** Lucy's voice exploded from her mouth louder than a volcanic eruption, the redness returned to her face so quickly it looked like she'd been set on fire. And the way she looked at Charlie Brown... it's a miracle that alone didn't kill him.

**"THAT'S THE BEST YOU CAN COME UP WITH! **"I guess you're not a very nice person"** GOOD GRIEF CHARLIE BROWN, GOOD GRIEF! THAT'S THE WORST THING YOU CAN SAY, IT'S WORSE THAN MARCIE'S BADTALK, AND THAT CAN HARDLY CLASSIFY AS BAD! AFTER ALL THE TIMES I'VE BEEN CRUEL TO YOU, ALL THE TIMES I PUT YOU DOWN TO YOUR FACE AND HUMILIATED YOU-IN PUBLIC! AFTER ALL THE GRIEF I'VE PUT YOU THROUGH, THAT'S THE BEST INSULT YOU HAVE FOR ME! GOOD GRIEF CHARLIE BROWN, YOU'RE HOPELESS, YOU'RE USELESS, YOU'RE A PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A BLOCKHEAD! YOU-YOU-"**

Lucy stopped at this point. Her breathing was heavy and the steam coming out of her ears was enough to fill every room in the Empire State Building. All the other Peanuts had leaped over to the other side of the wall, quaking in fear at the furious Lucy. But Charlie Brown remained firmly in place, more terrified than he could ever remember being in his life. Lucy stared him down, trying to find the perfect words to express her outrage at the round headed boy cowering before her.

"Charlie Brown. You make me **MAD!**" Lucy finished with great fury. Her anger had finally gone past the boiling point, and before anyone knew what was happening there was a huge explosion that covered the area. When the resulting dust cloud finally settled, Charlie Brown and friends lay scattered and groaning with pain, needless to say the wall was no more.

"Great, now we need a new place to hang out" Sally found the strength to complain.

"Maybe we should have all just kept our mouths shut" Said Linus.

While everyone else nodden and moaned in agreement to Linus, Lucy looked positively delighted.

"Wow, I am so good at this" Lucy almost sang with joy. Charlie Brown managed to pull himself to his feet and was met with a bone crushing hug from Lucy, which caused jaws to drop all around "Thank you Charlie Brown, thank you so much for being an excellent source of frustration"

"Uhh... you're welcome?" Charlie Brown said unsurely, Lucy was quick to release him and turned to all her other friends. They all looked at her and she smiled at them with her most wicked grin yet.

"Now" Lucy began, she closed her eyes and screwed up her face in a grumpy manner. No one knew quite what she was doing until the remaining rocks from the destroyed wall started to rise up around them "What were those things you were all saying about me again?"

Looks of terror swept up their faces, they had all been double crossed. Of course Lucy wouldn't allow them to ridicule her without consequence, now she was going to reap her vengeance.

"Lucy, did I ever tell you how beautiful you look" Schroeder said impishly, he was willing to try anything to avoid Lucy's wrath. But other than a brief, victorious smile, Lucy's only other reply was to manipulate a rock to crash against his head.

The Peanuts members urgently tried to plead with Lucy to forgive them, but the crabby girl was not to be swayed and they were forced to flee as Lucy chased after them with her floating rocks, leaving only Charlie Brown behind to wallow in the mud.

* * *

><p>A few hours after what was to be forever known as the wall incident, Charlie Brown returned home dragging Sally behind him in a little red wagon. When Lucy had caught up with her poor Sally had suffered great pain, though she was admittedly one of the more better off among the gang.<p>

"Big brother, where were you when Lucy was chaseing me, where were you when she beat me up with her magic powers!" Sally was complaining indignantly.

"I was laying face down in the mud, too weak to move" Charlie Brown replied truthfully.

"Well what were you doing that for when you should have been protecting me?" Sally whined, she continued to berate her brother until she was through the front door, after which she fell silent to avoid attracting her parents suspicion.

"Charlie, could you come here for a moment" Charlie and Sally's father called anxiously from the living room "You too Sally"

The Brown siblings did as they were told and stepped into the living room, where they were motioned to sit down on the armchair and Sally's beanbag by their parents. Judging by the looks on their parents faces, the siblings knew this couldn't be anything good.

"Charlie... have you been feeling... unusual recently" Asked Mrs Brown, Charlotte.

"No more so than usual" Charlie Brown replied, it was a lie, but it had to be done. His response worried the Brown parents.

"Are you sure?" Asked Charlie's father Richard Brown "Are you certain you haven't been feeling... different, in any way. Has anything happened that you're not sure of?"

"Well..." Charlie Brown began, but unable to come up with a good cover story he just stayed silent, much to his parents concern.

"And Sally, have you been feeling unusual in any way?" Richard inquired his daughter.

"No, I feel great" Replied Sally, who was much better at lying than her brother. However, her various lumps and bumps seemed to tell mr and mrs Brown otherwise.

"So, nothings happened?" Mrs brown asked, with a note of worry evident in her voice.

"Yes" Charlie Brown stared in shock at Sally, worried she might seriously be about to reveal the secret of their powers, but instead she smiled in a euthoric manner and said "My Sweet Baboo held my hand today"

"O-kay. And... how did you both end up looking like you just got off worse in a fight?" Richard Brown questioned, Charlie Brown stammered.

"Well... we got into a bit of trouble at the wall with Lucy" Charlie Brown replied, at least trying to be somewhat honest in his answer.

"Yes, we saw the explosion from here"

Gulp.

Charlie and Sally exchanged looks of horror. They were trapped now, there was no excuse in the world that could save them. And if a suitable one did exist, Charlie Brown knew he wouldn't come up with it.

"That wasn't even us, that was Lucy with her strange powers" Sally protested frantically. Mr and Mrs Brown exchanged curious looks while Charlie Brown looked ready to faint.

"Lucy?"

"Yeah, Lucy, it wasn't us, she made us get her angry and blew up the wall, then she pelted us with floating rocks, we did nothing wrong" Sally replied.

"What are you doing?" Charlie Brown whispered fearfully to his sister.

"Making sure we don't take the blame, so shut up" Sally whispered back. Charlie Brown groaned mentally, Sally's instinct to save herself from trouble had just ruined their chances of keeping their secret. If their parents knew Lucy was going around blowing things up, surely they'd catch on to the strange stuff that's been happening to himself and Sally. And sure enough:

"We've also received reports from your school, saying some very... very unusual things" Charlotte began, if they weren't so scared the Brown siblings would both be slapping their foreheads right now.

"Five hundred foot jumps, exploding lunches, falling from great height without hurting yourself, and I've noticed our house has been collapsing more so than usual in recent times" Mr Brown said, a look of understanding on his face. Snoopy entered through the front door and past by the family as he made his way into the kitchen "And I also don't think it was paint that made Snoopy green"

"Are we in trouble?" Charlie Brown and Sally asked in unison, knowing there was no way out of this situation. Mr and Mrs Brown looked at each other again, Charlie Brown saw the looks of concern and, for some strange reason, guilt spread over them.

"No kids, you're not in trouble" Mr Brown finally sighed. Sally let out a huge sigh of relief and flopped down in her beanbag. Charlie Brown however just stared at his father with a confused look.

"We're not?"

"No Charlie, we know everything that's happening isn't your fault, in fact... it's sort of our fault for not telling you" Mrs Brown began, looking incredibly more guilty than a minute ago.

Charlie and Sally stared shellshocked at their mother. 'She knew!' That thought screamed in their heads. It had been enough of a shock when their parents had asked them to sit down and start this whole coversation, but from what their mother was saying, they knew this would be happening. They knew their children would be developing supernatural powers, and if they knew about that, then of course they would know why.

It was a long time before Mr Brown spoke again, breaking the awkward silence that filled the room "I should warn you now, we have much to explain to the both of you. We should have told you years ago, but our fear for how it would affect you held us back until now. What we are about to explain is... it's very difficult to explain really, and we know it's going to be a lot to take in and it'll be very hard for you to accept any of it"

In all his ten years of life, Charlie Brown had never seen his parents look more scared than they did now. He himself didn't know what to make of any of this, a part of him wanted to know, know what secrets his parents had kept from him and Sally, while another part was wishing he hadn't come home at all this day.

Mr and Mrs Brown hesitated, apparently unsure of where to begin.

"Why do we have these weird super powers?" Sally finally asked, Mr Brown sighed heavily.

"Not super powers dear..." He began wearily "Magic"

Magic? Is that what he just said, magic. Was that what these powers were, magic. No. no, that couldn't be right. How could they, Charlie and Sally Brown, know magic. Magic didn't exist, it couldn't be the source of their powers, couldn't be. Could it? Actually, Charlie Brown thought, that did seem logical... or as logical as things get when dealing with the supernatural. But how... just how could they possess magic powers?

"It's not just you two" Mr Brown said when Charlie Brown voiced those thoughts "Or Lucy, or any of your other friends. The truth is there's a whole society of wizards and witches in this world, living in hiding from the non magical folk, for reasons I'll never fully understand. There are countless people like you, people who wave wands to cast spells that defy all laws of physics. It's not something to worry over, the two of you have a gift"

A whole hidden society of wizards. Ok, that certainly was a lot to take in. And while Sally looked quite pleased by the thought that she was a witch, for Charlie Brown it only managed to worsen his headache by piling a million more questions onto him.

"Wow... so wait, if we're all wizards and witches why are we living here like normal people when we should be living in a magic world, using wands to do ours chores for us?" Sally demanded. And apart from the comment about chores Charlie Brown completely agreed with her.

"Well, that's just the thing... you're mother and I are normal people" Mr Brown answered slowly. His children were left baffled by his statement.

"What do you mean, if you're not magic then how can we be?" Charlie Brown was first to ask this time. Richard and Charlotte Brown swapped looks of worry, apparently they had reached the part they were most dreading. They spent a very long time whispering to each other, clearly trying to find the right words to explain what had to be said.

"Well..." Charlotte Brown hesitated, her husband gave her a supportive look "Well, it can happen. Many people who aren't magic themselves can have children that are magic, it's actually quite common. No-one knows why, but it is"

Sally took her mothers explanation as being all the knowledge she needed, whereas Mr Brown looked almost furious with her and Charlie Brown was only confused once more. Apart from the obvious question of how likely it would be for both he and Sally to have been born magical while neither of their parents where, there was another burning question to be asked.

"So then, if neither of you have magic, how do you know about all this? Is anyone else in our family magic that we don't know about?" Charlie Brown had to ask, Mrs Brown looked increasingly guilty.

"Yes... we do have wizarding relatives" Mr Brown added before his wife could make her reply. A moment of silence, and then both children asked:

"Who?"

Now, now they had undoubtedly reached the part the Brown parents were least willing to discuss. Charlotte Brown shot a look of fear and longing to her husband. Richard gave her a comforting nod, and she knew she had to give her children the answers they craved. If the revelation of an entire wizarding society had been a shock to Charlie Brown, then this most definately would.

"Charlie, Sally..." Mrs Brown said softly, tears were swelling up in her eyes "We're... we're not you're real parents"

"WHAT!" The Brown children cried out. What had she just said! Not their real parents, how was that possible, how was that be logical, how could they not be the real parents of Charlie Brown and Sally, how?

Mrs Brown exploded with tears and buried her face in her hands, Mr Brown put his arm around her comfortingly while the children just stared open mouthed.

"We're not your parents, we're your aunt and uncle. We took you in when your mother and father were killed, we adopted you and raised you here as our own. Your mother and father, my sister and brother in law respectively, they were a wizard and a witch. That's why we knew you would be too" Mr Brown continued in place of his wife.

When they said this would all be hard to accept, they had meant it. So their parents, no, their aunt and uncle, who had been raising them for their whole lives, had lied to them. For all these years Charlie Brown had been calling them mom and dad, but they weren't even that. And what did they mean their real parents were killed, what had killed them? Were they murdered, that was a frightening thought for both children, or was there an accident, had something happened, had perhaps their magic gone astray and took their lives. And what about this whole magic concept. In the long run, were they really expected to believe that an entire society of wizards could actually exist without everyone else knowing about it. They had always been taught that magic did not exist in the real world, and here their "Parents" Were telling them it did exist, and that they, Charlie and Sally, and their real parents were some kind of sorcerers.

"I know this is all... really hard for you both to digest" Mr Brown said, for lack of a better expression "We've wanted to tell you for... well, we knew we'd have to tell you since the day we took you in as babies. We never quite knew how we were going to explain it all, we've probably gone over this conversation a few million times when you had both gone to bed... it's not going exactly as we planned it, but at least we haven't done as bad as we could have"

"So then..." Sally piped up, and Charlie Brown saw the look of extreme anguish on her face. Never had he seen his normally confident but lazy sister look so very sad "So you're not our parents at all? You're not our mom and dad"

Charlotte Brown burst out in a new wave of tears, making Sally feel ashamed of hereslf and making Charlie Brown wish he knew of something comforting to say.

"Yes, we are" Mr Brown began after convincing his wife to stop crying by the bucket full "We took you in, raised you as our own. We fed you, we clothed you... we loved you. Your whole lives we've done everything we could to make you both happy... So yes, we are your parents. Just not in the literal way"

"WE'RE SORRY!" Mrs Brown suddenly wailed, making her children jump out of their seats in surprise "We're sorry we couldn't tell you before know. We just... we just always worried about how you would take all this and-and what you would think of us. You're both so young, how were we supposed to explain to you that... you must think we're... really terrible p-p..."

"Mom, Stop!" Charlie Brown yelled, to the shock of everyone else in the room. Such an outburst was rare from Charlie Brown, and never before had he interuppted one of his parents... well, adopted parents before. But he had just had to draw the line there, he just had to tell Mrs Charlotte Brown how he felt.

"Mom, dad. I'm sure Sally and I can both agree that it doesn't matter whether you're our real parents, our aunt or uncle, or even complete strangers. Like dad said, you both took us in when we had no parents left and you took care of us for our whole lives. We've always thought you were great parents and we love you a whole lot. So please, please don't say you're bad parents because you're not. You're the best parents we could have ever asked for"

When Charlie Brown had finished his little speech mrs Brown once more broke into tears. _Oh no, _Charlie Brown thought miserably. He'd said the wrong thing, he just knew it. He'd made his mother feel worse than she already had. Oh, couldn't he do anything right, couldn't he say anything good to people.

Mrs Brown shot out of her seat at that moment and rushed over to wrap Charlie Brown in a warm, loving hug. With her son taken completely off guard, Charlotte also brought Sally into the hug, and the siblings gratefully returned her affections while Richard Brown walked over to join them. Snoopy, who was passing by with a bowl of dog food and a bag of candy, also stopped to take part in the hug, but left after receiving awkward looks from the rest of the family.

And so, after Charlie and Sally had both expressed to their adopted parents how much they loved them and how they thought they were a top-notch mom and dad, the Brown family spent a half hour discussing Charlie and Sally Brown's real parents.

As Mr Brown had said previously his sister, Victoria Brown, had been a witch born to non-magic parents, otherwised referred to as muggle borns by the wizards (Muggles being the non magical people). Apparently their side of the family had originally lived in Great Britain, where Victoria Brown had attended a wizarding boarding school called Hogwarts. Having only been there once or twice on very special occasions, Mr Brown was unable to explain much about how wizard schools worked, but he did say that children who were magic would usually be sent there when they reached the age of eleven to study magic, which was why Charlie and Sally had had to be told before then to be prepared for the revelation.

Richard explained how his family had moved to America sometime after Victoria had graduated from Hogwarts and gone on to become "Basically their idea of an environmentalist" Charlie and Sally's mother had chosen to remain in her home country however, because after leaving school she had fallen in love with one of her fellow students, a man called Trystan Brown. They had all had a quick laugh about how they both just so happened to have the same last name, despite Trystan being a full wizard. Around a year later the couple had been married and, a short while after, Charlie Brown had been born, and then a year later Sally came after him.

Now they were at another part Charlie Brown had really wanted to ask.

"How did they die?"

Richard Brown's face fell into a look of severe depression, and it was clear that horrible memories were flooding his brain.

"That's... the very saddest part" Mr Brown said finally, and the Brown siblings were worried by his tone of voice.

"Charlie, dear... do you still have that scar on your head?" Charlotte asked while her husband hid his tears.

Charlie Brown responded by moving a tuft of his non visible white blond hair out of the way to reveal the lightning bolt shaped scar on the right side of his forehead. Sally winced at the sight, as his sister she had obviously seen this scar a few times, but even she was so not used to seeing it that it came as a small surprise whenever she did get a look.

"I didn't just cut my head against the fireplace, did I?" Charlie Brown asked expectantly, Mr Brown looked up and shook his head, no longer bothered to hide his look of anguish.

"That scar is in no way a normal cut. We had a letter explaining it all, how your parents died, how you... were struck by a curse" Mr Brown said dramatically. It was lucky the armchair didn't roll back, or Charlie Brown would have been on the floor right now.

"My brother's got a curse! No wonder he always has so much bad luck at everything!" Sally exclaimed, frightened for her brothers safety.

"It's not that kind of curse Sally, your brother has that cut because the curse backfired on him... it was meant to kill him" Charlotte Brown would never quite know how she managed to say that last part without sobbing, but she did, and it only made Charlie Brown all the more frightened.

"Let's just make one thing clear my son, not all the wizards... not all of them are good" Mr Brown said darkly "And nine years ago, there was a war going on. A war against a wizard who... got as bad as they could get"

"Who was he?" It was Sally who asked.

"I learned it only after I had the unholy displeasure of meeting him, after I had been bound and dragged through a countryside at night, to be tourtured for information on where to find your parents" Richard Brown replied, pulling up his right sleeve to reveal a horrifying gash going up his arm "He was a man who's very name they feared. A man with the face of a snake... and the heart of a devil. Lord Voldemort"

"Voldemort?" Charlie Brown asked, not quite sure if he should feel afraid to say it. It did sound creepy, but not terrifying.

"That's right Charlie, Voldemort" Richard Brown replied, a look of deep hatred for the man of which he spoke spread across his face and burned in his eyes "He was a very powerful wizard, he wanted to take over the wizarding society of Britain. He wanted to rule the world and rid it off all muggles like Charlotte and myself, and all muggle born witches and wizards... like your mother"

"Why?" Sally asked, looking rather outraged by this revelation.

"Racism if you ask me. They say he thought all people like me and your mother were scum, and that muggle borns like your mother-your other mother-had mud for blood. I escaped him and his minions only because the wizarding police arrived at just the right moment, a second longer and I wouldn't be here with you now" Richard answered, looking ever more grim, and he was only getting more so by the second.

"And nine years ago, while you Charlie were only one, and Sally was a few months old... he hunted down your parents" Charlotte continued, knowing it would be too painful for her husband to speak of this next part "No-one knows why he went after them, probably wanted them on his side but knew they were too good of people to join his mad quest for power. He killed your mother and father, and then... we don't know why, no-one ever knew why, but he tried to kill you"

This time Charlotte Brown really did burst out into tears, and so did Richard, who she hugged for a long moment afterwards, while Charlie Brown and Sally looked downright horrified at what they'd just heard.

"We-we don't know why ourselves" Mrs Brown wailed "I suppose he just wanted to make a clean job out of it, maybe he just liked killing innocent people since he was such a monster. He went for you first Charlie, he probably would have killed Sally after you but... but... he couldn't"

"What do you mean?" pleaded Charlie Brown, who had hung on her every word.

"That's just it, he couldn't" Sniffed Mr brown this time "They never figured out why, all anyone knows is that he couldn't. And... and something went wrong, and he, Voldemort, just vanished that very day"

"He vanished? What do you mean he vanished!" Sally almost screamed, demanding to know what had happened to her parents murderer.

"We don't know. The details of all this... we only know about them from one letter we got, and all it said was that something about you Charlie... something about you put a stop to him that night. He couldn't kill you, a sweet little baby, when he had murdered hundreds of trained wizards. And he just disappeared, lost his powers and vanished off the face of the earth. From what we've heard he hasn't been seen ever since" Mr Brown finished.

Now if there was any part of this that Charlie Brown absolutely, positively, completely could not believe, that was it. He, Charlie Brown, the world's biggest loser and failure face, stopped who by the sound of it was the most dangerous and powerful dark wizard in the world. How could he... how could that... it couldn't possibly... he couldn't have... it just didn't make sense. He didn't know how he could have done such a thing. But of course his parents didn't know either, so it was pointless to ask them. But still, how?

"That scar Charlie" Charlotte began, her face stained with all the tears she had leaked that day and her voice shaky with fear and worry for her children's emotional wellbeing "That was where the curse rebounded. It's a mark of... how you survived. They told us... you were the only one who's ever survived it. And somehow, that had to do with you defeating that man who killed your mother and father"

"But how!" Charlie Brown cried in frustration "How could I survive? How could I stop someone as evil and dangerous as that, when I was only a baby and my parents who were a wizard and a witch were killed! It just doesn't make sense, in my whole life I've never one a baseball game, I've never gotten Snoopy to show me proper respect, I've never even kicked a stupid football, and I'm supposed to have stopped a dark wizard when I was a baby? That just doesn't sound right"

Charlie Brown's parents and sister all stared at him with looks of concern and sympathy, and soon he was drawn into another bone-crushing hug by his aunt-turned-mother.

"Oh baby, it's ok. I know it doesn't sound right. But it's what happened. It all happened. And this is why" Her voice broke "This is why we waited so long, because we didn't think you could stand the pain of it all, knowing the whole truth, or at least all the truth we know"

"I just... I don't believe this" Charlie Brown admitted, looking down depressed.

"Well... I guess I can't say you never stand up for me against bullies now big brother" Sally said with a half hearted attempt at a chuckle "Not when you saved me from being killed by the biggest bully alive. You're a real hero for beating him"

"He certainly is. In fact, that's half the reason you were sent to live with us" Richard piped in "When your brother stopped Voldemort, of course the news would spread all over the wizards world. We were told that you'd be famous, that every wizarding child your age would know your name. Victoria's old headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, didn't want you growing up with that fame, and since we were the only other family you had, you and your sister were sent here to us"

"We found you both on our doorstep the morning of November second, just two days after it happened. You were both in your baby baskets, a note from Albus Dumbledore was in Charlie's explaining everything we just told you about your parents deaths and Voldemort's downfall. It also told us... it told us to raise you, to care for you. Like we wouldn't do it anyway" Charlotte added, looking offended that she'd have to be told to look after the children she loved as her own when she would have done it without being asked.

"And it said to explain all of this to you before you went to Hogwarts to study magic" Mr Brown continued where his wife left off "It said to explain just as soon as you started showing signs of magic. Of course we'd seen the signs but... we just didn't know how to tell you. Now, when you turn eleven, you're each set to go off and learn all about being a great wizard and witch. And that's... well, I think that's everything important. Do you... do either of you have any more questions"

Any more questions? Ha, Charlie Brown still had a million questions left to ask, but there were so many buzzing through his head he couldn't focus on any given one, so he just settled for shaking his head and deciding to ask again at a time when his mind felt more at peace.

"I have a question" Sally said, raising her hand as though asking a teacher "Am I also famous"

That did seem to lighten the ominous mood a bit, and Mr and Mrs Brown spent the next few minutes assuring Sally that she'd be famous if her brother was famous, which she did not seem to think was a suitable reason to achieve fame.

"Are you sure you're alright Charlie, is there anything else we can tell you?" Charlotte asked the boy she declared her son, wanting more than anything to ensure he was alright with everything that had just been said.

"No thanks mom, I'll be fine" Charlie Brown tried to sound confident, but the squeakyness of his voice ruined any chance of that. His mother kissed him tenderly on the forehead, right over the scar, and then noticed the time on the wall clock.

"Good grief, nine twenty five already. How long have we been here talking?" Charlotte asked, perplexed at the rapid passage of time.

"I suppose you two had better be heading off to bed, but please... I know you're still concerned over all this, and I'm certain there's a lot of things you'd like to ask us. So please, if there is anything, please tell us" Mr Brown said reasuringly to his children.

"That's okay dad, I think maybe I'll just go to bed, I'm feeling really worn out. I think I'd like to talk more in the morning though" Charlie Brown replied honestly.

"Yeah, and I really wanna hit the hay too" Sally said, stifling a huge lawn. Both parents smiled weekly.

"I understand. Try to get some rest" Mr Brown said, he gave Charlie and Sally a warm hug and they scurried off to their bedrooms.

"Boy, just when you think life couldn't get an weirder" Sally commented when they were up the stairs.

"Sally, what do you about think of all this?" Charlie Brown asked curiously.

"I don't know big brother, I just don't know" Sally replied solumnly.

After reaching their respective bedrooms and wishing each other goodnight, Charlie and Sally Brown settled down in their beds for the night. The things he had just been told buzzed like a swarm of bees inside Charlie Brown's head. He couldn't sleep until well past midnight, and when he did he was haunted by nightmares. The bad dreams consisted of nothing but pitch darkness, pierced with screams of terror and ending in a flash of green light. He had had these dreams at many times in his life, usually when he was feeling his most depressed. But this time, when it reached the part with the green light, Charlie Brown heard something he'd never heard before. The echo of a high, cold, evil cackle.

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><p><strong>Tiger lover 16: Ok, so I hoped you all enjoyed that chapter. Really long I know, and some parts didn't go the way I'd hoped, particularly the ending, but I'll try and edit that in the future. The important thing is whether you enjoy it. It normally takes me a while to update anything, as it is I'm disgusted with how long it's taken me to update my Mario story, but I'll try not to take too long. If there's anything you think should be better, please tell me so in your reviews. Have a nice day.<strong>


	2. Happy Birthday Charlie Brown

**Tiger** **lover 16: OK, here I am with chapter two. Hope everyone liked the first chapter, and thanks for the reviews. I want you to know that I really appreciate it when people like my stories, and I hope you enjoy this chapter and all the others. With this second chapter there's not so much magic, here I'm mostly trying to focus on Charlie Brown's relationship with various friends, and to further the plot along. I don't know when the next update will be, so be patient, they can't all be as quick as this, I just happened to have most of this written. Some parts may need improving, but I did my best, so I hope you like it. There's been a change in Charlie Brown's date of birth, but that was never solidly established in the strip anyway as far as I know. Ok, continue.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown<strong>

It was a cold day on August the thirteenth that year. Not the kind of cold that would result in snow or hail, but still a shocking breeze after the pleasantly warm summer.

Today would not have been very important, nor would it have been considered an interesting day in any way, if not for one simple fact.

Today was Charlie Brown's eleventh birthday.

Charlie Brown was never one to make a big deal of his own birthdays. Most of the time his friends forgot even if he had reminded them the previous day and he never got any presents. He could remember one time when Shermy and Patty had believed his birthday to be in October and given him a birthday cake with no candles and no cake, only the plate. Charlie Brown of course was always there to wish his friends a happy birthday, mainly because he did not want to upset them by forgetting.

But today would be different, today Charlie Brown was officially old enough to attend Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And it wouldn't just be him going, all his friends but Linus and his sister Sally had reached the age of eleven before him, so no doubt they would be getting letters too, whenever they were meant to show up in the mail. Speaking of which, Charlie Brown had been checking his mailbox daily for the past few weeks, awaiting the day he would receive the letter to invite him to Hogwarts. He sometimes noticed his friends doing the same thing.

When Charlie Brown and Sally had first mentioned to the other members of the gang with magic in them about the wizarding society, they had been ecstatic. For almost a full year Charlie Brown's friends had bombarded him with questions about the wizarding world, how many wizards there were, what sort of magic was there besides the stuff they already knew and what Hogwarts was like were all common questions, but Charlie Brown could never answer one, and his friends grew more and more exhasperated.

"Can I help if I know nothing about magic myself?" Was Charlie Brown's usual reply to his friends bemusement.

For the longest time however, Charlie Brown had neglected to mention anything about his parents not being his real parents, but adoptive ones. He didn't mind if he was adopted, he loved Richard and Charlotte Brown too much to make a fuss over them not being his true birth parents, as did Sally.

Charlie Brown had also reframed from mentioning the name Voldemort. He was sure that if he ever mentioned how he had inexplicably vanquished the darkest wizard in British history, his friends would accuse him of lying and simply trying to trick them into respecting him. He didn't mind, Charlie Brown wouldn't have believed himself either, he still couldn't believe it. During this past year he must have made fifty attempts to kick Lucy's football and every one of them a miserable failure, and he had lost a record thirty two kites to the kite eating tree this month. How was someone like him supposed to have defeated the terrifying Lord Voldemort?

He had often feared that Sally would expose the story of his parents murder to his friends, like she had done with their magic abilities to their adoptive parents, but Charlie Brown was pleasantly surprised to find his sister was as tight lipped on the subject as he was. Well, she probably didn't believe he beat back Voldemort either.

And now that we're done with that catchup, let's get back to the topic at hand; Charlie Brown's birthday.

Now I've said Charlie Brown didn't usually look forward to his birthdays, but this time... this time he felt confident it would go well. Why wouldn't it, now that he was officially eleven Hogwarts would have to send him some news of when he would be attending, and despite his countless uncertainties, Charlie Brown was eager to learn more about this wizarding world, the world he was born into but thrust away from as a baby. He wanted to know what it was like to live in that world, and as unsupportive as some of them may be, he was relieved to know that most of his friends would be going there with him. He supposed it would be kinda lonely without his best friend Linus for the first year, and he did wish Shermy and Franklin had also shown signs of magic so they could go too. But hey, you can't have everything you want, not even on your birthday.

Charlie Brown had been hoping to start the day off quietly and peacefully, just get out of bed, have breakfast, get dressed and head off to meet his friends, hoping one of them would remember what day it was. But instead, he started his morning by being awoken abruptly by the sound of trumpets as Snoopy, dressed up as a scout leader, paraded around his room with his scouting troop of Woodstock and his identical bird friends.

"Good grief" Charlie Brown groaned and covered his ears in an effort to block out the deafening sound of the trumpets. He was relieved when they stopped, but gave a sigh of exhasperation as Snoopy jumped up on his bed with food bowl in mouth, demanding breakfast.

Charlie Brown reluctantly replied and, after falling down the stairs and hitting his head against his father's titanium statue of Edgar Rice Burrows, stumpled into the kitchen to prepare Snoopy's dog food.

"Here you go Snoopy, eat up" Charlie Brown said as he handed Snoopy his food, Snoopy performed his usual happy dance and hopped off contently to consume his meal on the roof of his doghouse. Charlie Brown made to prepare himself a bowl of cereal when Woodstock and his fellow troops hopped up in front of his bowl, pointing their wings to their open mouths in an effort to say "Feed me"

Though reluctant, Charlie Brown agreed to feed the schreeching little birds. However, their reaction to the small cups of bird seed Charlie Brown gave them was to pour it over his head.

"Ok, so what would you like me to feed you?" Charlie Brown asked. He soon wished he hadn't, for he was forced to spend the next half hour digging up the back garden for worms, while a blissfully ignorant Snoopy gobbled down his own meal.

"Here you go, fresh from the ground" Charlie Brown said in a sing song voice, relieved to be free of the task of feeding the birds who now swarmed over the bowl of worms.

Seeing the state of his hands and face, Charlie Brown rushed up to his bathroom and washed vigorously. But after the first wash, his hands still looked brown as twigs. Another two washes after he could see the pink again. After the twelth wash Charlie Brown decided it would be safe to start washing his face aswell. And after a hundred tries, Charlie Brown was finally clean.

"Where have you been all morning" Sally asked from her beanbag.

"Serving out rashions for the scouts" Charlie Brown replied monotonously. After finally pouring himself a bowl of cereal, Charlie Brown was disappointed when his mother told him that his dad had already left for work and he would not see him until later that day.

After finishing his unsatisfying breakfast (The milk turned out to be expired) Charlie Brown tried to ask Sally to change the channel on the tv to his favourite show in the morning. The only response he got was Sally turning the volume up higher.

With a sigh of defeat, Charlie Brown left his sister to her mindless cartoons and headed over to the Van Pelt residence. Rerun answered the door with a cheery "Good morning Charlie Brown, did you have a nice breakfast?"

"I've had better" Charlie Brown replied before asking "Is your brother home?"

"No, I think he went to the library to get an early start on making leaflets about the Great Pumpkin" Rerun replied, looking uneasy. As young as he was, Rerun was not quite as gullible as his brother and could find his childish beliefs to be a bit embarassing, though he still usually aided in Linus's efforts to raise awareness of the Great Pumpkin.

"Oh. That's alright then, is your sister home?" Charlie Brown asked, only because he hoped to get a birthday card. He'd rather not spend the whole day hanging out with crabby Lucy.

"No, she's next door at Schroeder's, continuing her ongoing quest to sway his affetions. I pity him" Rerun said with a playful smirk. He then hastily added "Please don't tell Lucy I said that, please"

"I won't" Charlie Brown promised. He spent a half hour playing marbles with Rerun before leaving the boy to play flying ace with Snoopy. Naturally, when Charlie Brown brought up his birthday before he left, Rerun replied with a stoic, yet slightly forced "I'm sorry Charlie Brown, I didn't know"

Charlie Brown pondered whether or not he should join Linus at the library. However, he decided that he didn't want to spend his whole birthday making cards for the Great Pumpkin and researching pumpkin carols, so he decided he would just pay him a quick visit later when he got home. Even Linus, his best friend, was bound to have forgotten his birthday, so he wouldn't take time off from his work for him.

Uncertain about which of his other friends to meet up with next, Charlie Brown ended up going to the park. Though he saw none of his friends there, he did end up agreeing to help a little kid get her kite into the air.

"Gee, thanks a lot mister" The little girl had said gratefully. Charlie Brown was delighted to find he had actually gotten the kite into the air and fly it about succssfully, and the small girl stared up at him admiringly... until he crashed her kite into the kite eating tree.

"Gee, thanks a lot mister" The girl said with much sarcasm as she stormed off. Charlie Brown groaned miserably.

"Can't you even give me a break on my birthday?" Charlie Brown complained to the tree, which made no response whatsoever.

Still bitter over his latest defeat at the hands, erm, branches of the kite eating tree, Charlie Brown ended up absentmindedly walking into Violet.

"Oh look who it is, it's Charlie Brown" Violet nearly sang.

"Hello Charlie Brown, nice day you're having?" Patty asked sweetly. Charlie Brown stared suspisciously at her, and to the wide grin on Violet's face.

"You girls are trying to insult me like you normally do, aren't you?" Charlie Brown asked accusingly.

"Insult you?" Patty said, looking politely offended.

"Why Charlie Brown, how could we insult you, today of all days?" Violet asked in a pleading voice.

"Wait" Charlie Brown said, looking very excited. Could it be, could Patty and Violet have remembered his birthday, were they going to treat him fairly today. He had to ask them "So you girls know what day it is?"

"Why of course we do Charlie Brown" Violet said kindly, Charlie Brown smiled euthorically "Today is thursday, another day in which we try our best to prevent you from ruining it with your wishy washy attitude and constant failures"

Charlie Brown's heart sank as Violet and Patty burst out laughing at her remark.

"Although, perhaps there are a few things we could insult you about, but I'm not saying we would" Patty chimed in, skipping around Charlie Brown "Like your head, so round and bald and lacking any sense of normality whatsoever"

"Or perhaps your shirt, that same yellow shirt with the black zigzag which you wear over and over again without changing it, and how unfashionable it is" Violet said in her sing song voice.

"Or maybe we could bring up your baseball skills. Yep, your terrible record as a manager is a perfect reason to insult you. Oh, how terrible you are at baseball. Oh, what perfect reason to ridicule you" Patty lamented with a smile.

"And of course let's not forget your unlikabilty, if we wanted to mock you that would give us so much to work with. How many people would not want to be caught dead with you at a party, I certainly wouldn't invite you to one of mine. And how many times have you said the wrong thing and made your friends angry. Is it not a wonder that you even have any friends" Violet continued giddily.

"And let's not forget your face" Patty almost cheered.

"Ah yes" Violet sighed, leaning in real close to Charlie Brown's face "Definitely a failure face"

"So in short, while there are many things we could insult you for Charlie Brown, we have no intention of doing so on this fine thursday in August" Patty concluded, to an explosion of laughter from Violet, which she happily joined into. Charlie Brown looked utterly depressed as he left the two girls there to laugh at his shortcomings.

Deciding it wasn't safe to remain in the park, Charlie Brown thought the next best place to look for his friends was at... oh right, the wall was still being repaired. So where would his friends hang out now? Charlie Brown remembered how he, Patty and Shermy had used to hang out near a street curb when they were younger, and Shermy still had a habit of sitting there when he wanted to think. And sure enough, that's where Charlie Brown found him.

"Hey Shermy" Charlie Brown greeted.

"Hello Charlie Brown" Shermy replied with a friendly wave. When they were about four, Shermy had been Charlie Brown's best friend and they spent most of their time playing together. Nowadays they were not as close and did not talk so often, but were still on friendly terms.

"So, what are you doing?" Charlie Brown asked, hoping to start up a good conversation.

"Oh, I was just sitting here wondering what I should get Patty for our anniversary" Shermy replied with a thoughtful frown.

"Anniversary?" Charlie Brown was completely clueless about what he meant. He knew Shermy and Patty (Not Peppermint Patty) were a couple since the age of four, but what Shermy said hardly made sense.

"Yeah, our anniversary of that glorious day we first fell in love at your house. Thanks for setting us up, by the way" Shermy added with a friendly tap to Charlie Brown's shoulder as the round headed boy sat down next to him.

"Oh, that" Charlie Brown said, he really hadn't been trying to hook them up, if anything he'd hoped Patty would fall for him. But of course, that never happened.

"Yeah, I think it's important to get good gifts for your friends, family and girlfriend on an important day of their lives" Shermy replied proudly, Charlie Brown thought back to the plate with no cake on it. He supposed the thought was nice, even if it wasn't his birthday.

"So, what are you going to get her then?" Charlie Brown asked, hoping to slip in something about his birthday later.

"I don't know, I can't decide whether it should be something flashy like a diamond necklace, or something simpler but thoughtful, like one of her favourite comic books. She loves good comic books. I just can't decide which would be better" Shermy said with a sigh.

"Hmm..." Charlie Brown hummed thoughtfully "Well, I suppose a diamond necklace would be pretty nice, but it is flashy and the point of a good relationship is that it's based on trust and commitment, not material wealth. And a comic book sounds pretty nice, it's something she could enjoy time and time again, and after all it's the thought that counts. I think simple things are both humble and a better testimony of one's true feelings than flashy and expensive trinkets"

"Wow... who knew you would know so much about love Charlie Brown" Shermy said, awestruck by Charlie Brown's speech.

"My relationship with Peggy Jean taught me a lot of things" Charlie Brown replied, his face fell "Mainly that long distance relationships just never work out"

"Well, those thought aside, I want to thank you very much Charlie Brown, you may very well have saved my relationship with Patty" Shermy said before shooting to his feet and running off down the street "Now if you'll excuse me I really gotta go buy her gift!"

"Uh, ok-but just so you know, it's my birthday!" Charlie Brown yelled after Shermy, but he just knew he hadn't been heard "The one time I give good advice I get abandoned on the curb"

Still determined to have fun with some of his friends on his birthday, Charlie Brown continued searching about the town. He searched and searched and searched but could not find anyone he knew too well. Eventually Charlie Brown came across a payphone and decided to give a ring to each of the friends he hadn't already visited.

His first attempt was to call Pigpen, but when the phone stopped ringing it was his mother who answered.

"Hello Mrs Pigpen's mom, is your son at home right now?" Charlie Brown asked, not knowing Pigpen's last name. She told him he was out at the moment and hung up.

Charlie Brown placed another quarter into the payphone and attempted to call Freida, but again it was a parent who answered, this time a father, who for whatever reason yelled at Charlie Brown to stop stalking his daughter and slammed the phone down.

Confused, Charlie Brown looked in the phone book and realised he had dialled the residancy of the Little Red Haired girl.

"Good grief, does she really think I'm a stalker?" Charlie Brown asked himself dejected.

Charlie Brown tried calling Freida again and this time got the number right, but it was her mother who answered, and she said Freida was out somewhere.

Charlie Brown tried again with Franklin and Marcie, but got the same reply as before (Minus the stalking part). He planned on phoning Peppermint Patty but, realising he only had one quarter left, decided to hang on to it and pay a visit to the other side of town, maybe Marcie and Franklin would be with Peppermint Patty at her house. But then again, he also remembered Rerun telling him that Lucy was at Schroeder's, so he thought he should go there first to see them both. While he made to leave, Charlie Brown tripped over his own two feet and dropped his last quarter down a drain pipe.

"Rats" Charlie Brown muttered.

After taking a moment to mourn the loss of his money, Charlie Brown made his way to Schroeder's house, wondering why he hadn't done so in the first place. Being one of Schroeder's closest friends meant he could walk into the house uninvited, and naturally he found the musical prodigy playing his toy piano (How he had returned it to it's original form was anyone's guess) which Lucy was leaning against, talking to Schroeder.

"So to sum up that long discussion, do you think we'll ever get married Schroeder?" Lucy asked the love of her life.

Schroeder stopped playing for a moment to reply "Only if every other girl on this planet up and dies"

"So then, there is hope!" Lucy said gleefully, Schroeder rolled his eyes and continued playing Beethoven.

"Hello Schroeder, hello Lucy" Charlie Brown made his presence known.

"What do you want Charlie Brown, if you're here to lean on Schroeder's piano I'll have you know it's reserved" Lucy said defensively.

"It is not!" Schroeder protested and pulled the piano back so Lucy fell onto the floor "Hello Charlie Brown, good to see you"

"Good to see you too, have you both been having a good day?" Charlie Brown asked nicely.

"If you call having a day's worth of romantic advances ignored or met with sarcasm good then yes, I'm having a wonderful day Charlie Brown" Lucy replied, clearly not in a good mood. Charlie Brown decided he wouldn't stay very long.

"It's been good for the most part" Schroeder replied, giving Lucy an annoyed glance "What about you Charlie Brown?"

"Oh, you know, same as how most birthdays go for me" Charlie Brown replied, glad he could bring up the subject of his birthday quickly this time.

Lucy and Schroeder's head's shot up in surprise, they exchanged nervous glances and looked at the clock.

"Oh my gosh, is it that time already!" Lucy exclaimed. Schroder slammed his piano back into place and both children rushed to get their coats off a nearby coat rack.

"Um, hello?" Charlie Brown asked in confusion.

"Sorry Charlie Brown, we're late for something really important we gotta do" Schroeder called, rushing to the front door to yank it open.

"We'll see you later, bye Charlie Brown" Lucy called as she sped out the door, followed quickly by Schroeder who slammed the door behind him as Chalrie Brown looked on in shock.

"They didn't even wish me a happy birthday" Charlie Brown lamented.

Just what had all that been about? As Charlie Brown left the house and set off to the other side of town, he couldn't shake the feeling that Lucy and Schroeder had just purposely tried to avoid him. There was no other explanation he could think of for them just running out on him like that. But why would they do that, surely Charlie Brown wasn't THAT unlikeable, was he? He couldn't be so impossible to consider a good friend that Lucy and Schroeder would not want to at least wish him a happy birthday.

These thoughts haunted Charlie Brown all the way to Peppermint Patty's side of town, and that was a long way to walk uphill. But Charlie Brown didn't mind the walk, it would all be worth it once he had the chance to spend time with his friends, and Peppermint Patty was one of his best friends.

True, she liked to tease him as much as any other person, she would always call him things like "You sly dog" and gave him compliments he knew he did not deserve. She would also constantly ask him questions about love and for at least half of every coversation he had with her, she would end by asking "You kinda like me, don't you Chuck" Charlie Brown never knew what to reply to this, and usually his response was to say the wrong thing and make her angry.

But despite all that, Peppermint Patty was still a very important person in Charlie Brown's life. She was the first girl to fully accept Charlie Brown for who he was and not belittle him over every little thing he did wrong, and she would always stand up for him and try to make him a better person, even if she was a bit demanding sometimes. He just knew that if anyone was going to wish him a very happy birthday and go to great lengths to make him feel good about himself, it was Patty.

After what felt like an hours hike, Charlie Brown finally made it to the house he knew Peppermint Patty lived and happily knocked on the door. It was answered soon after by Peppermint Patty's father, mr Reichard.

"Well hello there Chuck-o, can I help you in anyway?" Asked Mr Reichard in a voice so jolly it would make Santa proud.

"Yes sir, I was wondering if your daughter was here, I was hoping to pay her and my other friends a visit today" Charlie Brown replied.

"Well I hate to disappoint you Chuck, but my rare gem's out for the day, say's she probably won't be home 'til late tonight" Mr Reichard replied, Charlie Brown's face fell.

"Oh, I see" Charlie Brown sighed in disappointment.

"Something wrong Chuck-o?" Mr Reichard asked.

"It's nothing, it's just that it's my birthday today and so far I haven't been having much fun. None of my friends have time for me and the only two people who seem to have aknowledged it being my birthday ran out on me. I was just hoping that I could at least spend some time with Peppermint Patty today, because I know she'd want me to have a happy birthday and wouldn't walk out on me for no reason" Charlie Brown explained sadly.

"I see..." Mr Reichard replied with a thoughtful look in his eye "You kind of like my daughter, don't you Chuck-o? And no, I don't mean it in a "Just friends" way"

Charlie Brown turned red, catching on to that last remark.

"Well no I... I mean, yeah I... yeah she's... wait, I mean I... she's very... I don't... not that she's not... I don't... what do you... I uh, I um... she's... I-uh-um-I-ugh...AUGH!" Charlie Brown finally screamed in frustration, Mr Reichard laughed hysterically.

"I'm just messing with you Chuck-o, I know you only like my daughter as a friend" Mr Reichard said through chuckles, but then slyly added "But if you ever work up the guts to ask her out, you have my approval. Happy birthday"

And Mr Reichard closed the door on Charlie Brown, leaving him there to splutter and blush some more.

Did Charlie Brown like Peppermint Patty as more than just a friend. What kind of question was that? Charlie Brown had always liked her as a friend, at first he hadn't been sure what to make of her. She had seemed so strange to him with her peppy attitude and the way she called him Chuck. But over time, he had grown to really appreiate his friendship with her, even when she embarassed him. But to like her as more than just a friend!

No, that was just impossible. I mean, sure, she was a great girl. She was a star athleite at any sport, especially baseball, and her zest and enthusiasm were to be admired. And (Charlie Brown blushed ever more as he thought it) She was, in her own way, pretty cute. Despite all the times she had talked to him about how big her nose was and how stupid her freckles were, and that she was just a "Plain Jane" Charlie Brown never thought her nose was all that big, and in his mind her freckles were nothing to be ashamed of, they were rather cute on her really. Of course he would never admit that. He didn't want to know what her reaction would be, to hug him or kick him for lying to her. But just how could he like her as more than just a friend when it was obvious she couldn't like him in that way.

Sure, for all her teasing Peppermint Patty clearly liked Charlie Brown enough to associate with him, and his sister Sally had in fact speculated that she liked him in that way, but he could never believe it. Just how many times had she called Charlie Brown wishy washy, how many times had she talked about how easy it was to beat him at baseball? And he could distinctly remember a game of ha ha Herman where she had loudly told Marcie nobody could ever love him. Now that, that was one of the hardest insults he had ever had to endure.

So yeah, how could Charlie Brown like her that way if she could never possibly return the feeling. For as nice a girl as she may have been, Charlie Brown just couldn't handle that kind of rejection, he'd already been through so much trouble trying to impress the Little Red Haired girl, and everyone knows how that's turned out.

With all his worry over Peppermint Patty, Charlie Brown had failed to realise he had already wandered all the way back home. He checked his watch. 5pm. 5pm, he had been out for that long and still received no happy birthday's from a friend. Well, there was that one from Mr Reichard, but not from his own friends, whom he had hardly seen much of today.

Refusing to admit total defeat just yet, Charlie Brown walked over to his mailbox. It was just as he feared, empty. No birthday cards from his friends, no letter addressed to him from Hogwarts, no nothing.

Apart from the pain of another lousy birthday, Charlie Brown now had to ask himself, was he ever going to get to go to Hogwarts. Had all of that been a lie, had his parents lied to him about everything. Was he not really a wizard, but just some super powered freak and his parents had just been playing a cruel joke on him this whole time? That sounded a lot like his luck.

His heart weighing down heavy, Charlie Brown slumped through the front door and towards the living room. Noticing the house was in complete darkness, Charlie Brown flipped on the living room light, and was blown off his feet by a loud "SURPRISE!"

Charlie Brown flipped over three times in the air and landed safely on his posterior, shaking his head clear he looked for the source of the noise. He couldn't believe his eyes.

Gathered around the living room table was every single one of his friends, all lined up from left to right with Lucy standing in the middle, holding a plate with a huge chocolate cake with eleven candles. Behind the group of grinning children stood Mr and Mrs Brown, smiling down happily at their son, a huge stack of letters in Mr Brown's right hand. And from what Charlie Brown could see with his eyes directed at his friends, the room had been decorated with balloons and banners.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHARLIE BROWN!" His friends chanted, Snoopy popped up on the table and set off a dozen streamers, while Woodstock and Snoopy's normally desert dwelling brother Spike were tossing around glitter and roses. Charlie Brown just stared with his mouth wide open, not quite knowing how he should react to this truly wonderful surprise. He settled on crying a river of tears and smiling joyfully.

"You... you guys..." Charlie Brown tried to speak, but his voice failed him and pretty soon he was pulled into his circle of friends, each one giving him a pat on the back and, in the girl's cases, a hug. Charlie Brown blushed at this.

"Happy birthday Chuck, glad you finally made it" Peppermint Patty said gleefully.

"Well, I... what are you all... how did... what's going on here, I thought you'd all forgot or didn't care it was my birthday today" Charlie Brown found the courage to say.

"Of course we remembered Charlie Brown, and you should never think we don't care, we've been planning this party for over a week now" Linus replied proudly.

"But, wait" Charlie Brown stuttered, turning first to Violet and Patty "If you knew, then why were you both still making fun of me earlier and acting like you didn't know?"

"Well duh, we wanted to take out all our frustrations on you early today, so we could be that much nicer to you when the party started" Violet replied with a very self satisfied smirk, as though this statement made her and Patty look like the most thoughtful friends in the world.

"O... kay" Charlie Brown said slowly before turning on Lucy and Schroeder "But what about when I told you guys, you just looked scared and ran off saying you were late"

"Yeah, late to help set up the party" Lucy said as though it were quite obvious, and Charlie Brown admitted it did make sense.

"Sorry if we worried you by the way" Schroeder apologised sincerely.

"Well, I can understand that. But Linus, Rerun told me you were at the library getting ready for the Great Pumpkin's arrival on Halloween"

"No, I just told him to tell you that so you wouldn't come looking for me, I've spent all day painting those portraits" Linus replied, pointing to the wall behind him, which showed various portraits of Charlie Brown and the others. Most of them depicted Charlie Brown in the front, doing things such as flying a kite, kicking a football while Lucy looked on with a smile of admiration, and being liften up by his friends, wearing a baseball cap and holding a trophy.

"My Sweet Babboo is a great artist, huh big brother?" Sally asked giggling. Linus rolled his eyes at the nickname, but did not give his usual outburst.

Charlie Brown took a long moment to stare admiringly at the paintings of his unachieved victories, before asking "And then, the reason I couldn't find any of you-"

"Was because we were all here, getting ready to surprise you" Franklin finished.

"And we've been waiting a while, what took you so long?" Lucy asked annoyed, though not quite as much as she would have been any other day.

"Well, I've been looking for all of you, and none of your parents said anything so I just kept looking. No-one told me when to come home" Charlie Brown responded, deciding to leave out the part about him moping over whether Peppermint Patty "Liked" him. Everyone stared blankly at Charlie Brown for a second before turning on Rerun, who was hidden at the back of the crowd.

"Rerun, we told you to make sure he was here at three" Lucy scolded her youngest brother, who looked downright ashamed of himself.

_"Hey, it's not the kids fault, we were all the way in Germany" Snoopy jumped to Rerun's defense, but of course no-one heard his thoughts._

"Well, the timing might not have gone as we planned, but the point is we all want you to have a very happy birthday Charlie Brown" Pigpen said to lighten the mood, everyone nodded and voiced their aggreement.

"Gee, thanks everyone. Thank you so much" Charlie Brown said, shedding one last tear.

After taking a while to enjoy the mere thought that his friends really cared about him on his birthday and receiving a lot more cries of happy birthday, Charlie Brown, on his friends insistance that it be the first thing he did, made a start on opening his birthday presents.

He had gotten more presents here than he had on Christmas. From Schroeder he had received a whole set of CD's featuring the musical stylings of, guess who, Beethoven. Sally had poorly wrapped her present, a book featuring a selection of Garfield comic strips. From Violet Charlie Brown had received a plain purple shirt, which Violet said was because she was tired of seeing him wear that same zigzag shirt, and from Patty he received... a yellow zigzag shirt. Violet eyed her menacingly, but Patty was innocently looking up at the ceiling and whistling.

"I think Snoopy bought you this one son" Mr Brown said curiously, lifting up a gift in green wrapping paper with the images of bones on it. Snoopy clapped his hands eagerly together as Charlie Brown opened said gift, which turned out to be a dog food bowl labelled "Round headed kid"

"_Like it? I noticed you didn't seem to have one of your own, so I had this one made just for you" Snoopy thought happily to Charlie Brown, who smiled awkwardly and gave Snoopy a pat on the head._

_"I suppose this would be a bad time to mention it Snoopy, but..." Snoopy's skinny brother Spike began as Charlie Brown opened a similarly wrapped present "I bought him a food bowl too"_

As Snoopy rolled his eyes over how he had gotten the round headed kid the same present as someone else, Charlie Brown went on to open an unlabelled gift, which turned out to be a red kite. A red kite that looked awfully familiar.

"Hey, this is the same red kite I lost to the kite eating tree just yesterday" Charlie Brown announced, and a smile crept up his face "The tree must have heard me say it was my birthday and taken pity on me. And I'll bet if I go to the park now, it won't even stop me from flying it! Excuse me everyone, I gotta go find out for myself"

Charlie Brown was halfway out the door before Lucy yanked him back by the collar and yelled "Oh no you don't Charlie Brown, you're not going anywhere until you've at least opened my gift."

And with that in mind, Charlie Brown opened Lucy's present next, a new football.

"See, now later we can go outside and I'll let you kick it. And I promise I won't pull it away this time since it's your birthday" Lucy said sweetly.

"Yeah, sure" Charlie Brown responded dryly, certain Lucy had no intention to do such a thing but happy to know he could now get someone more trusting to hold a football for him.

Though Charlie Brown had wanted to make a start on his birthday cards first, having never received any in his life, his friends still insisted he open the presents, both because they wanted him to enjoy what they'd gotten him and because they wanted to see what he got themselves.

His next few presents consisted of a pair of walkie talkies from Franklin, a couple of comic books from Shermy, and a hair drier from Freida.

"Why on earth would Charlie Brown need a hair drier, he doesn't have any hair" Lucy, Violet and pretty much everyone else had pointed out.

"I thought it might grow out a bit now that he's eleven" Freida answered impishly. Not likely, but Charlie Brown thanked her for the gift anyway.

"It's the thought that counts" Charlie Brown said.

With that said Charlie Brown sped through the next four presents, a basketball from Rerun, his own security blanket from Linus (Lucy had thrown a fit over this), a remote control airplane from Woodstock, and a DVD of The Lion King from Marcie (She had presented this to him with a cheery "Happy Birthday Charles" and a kiss to his cheek, much to Charlie Brown's surprise and honour, and to the frustration of a certain brunnette).

"Gosh, thanks everybody, I can't tell you how much this means to me" Charlie Brown began happily "I-"

"Now don't go thanking us just yet Chuck, you still have one last present to open" Peppermint Patty interrupted, pointing to a tiny, rectangular present on the table which Charlie Brown hadn't noticed because it was so small and thin.

"Oh, thank you Peppermint Patty" Charlie Brown replied, picking up the tiny gift. Everyone stared curiously at the present, as thin as a piece of paper and no larger than a tissue. Wait, could that have been it, a tissue? Charlie Brown didn't think Peppermint Patty would really get him something like that for his birthday, but still, what else could it be with something this small? Carefully, Charlie Brown unwrapped Peppermint Patty's gift, and gasped.

It was a baseball card, and not just any baseball card, it was a card featuring his beaseball hero Joe Shlabotnik! Charlie Brown couldn't believe his eyes, he had spent half his life looking for a Joe Shlabotnik card, he'd bought hundreds of packs of baseball cards and never found one. But here, right here, he finally had one.

"I know it's not much, but I know how big a fan you are of that guy, and they're really rare since no one cared to make a lot of cards for him. So, I thought, why not get you one if I could find it" Peppermint Patty said, staring expectantly at Charlie Brown and clearly hoping he didn't think she was being a cheapskate compared to the many more impressive presents the others had gotten him.

Charlie Brown looked up from the card, glanced at it again, looked at Peppermint Patty and suddenly hugged her. The other peanuts kids stared in speechless shock at the scene before them while the Brown parents found it extremely cute.

When he realised just what he was doing Charlie Brown recoiled and hastily looked away to hide his beet red face, he had no trouble hiding the blush as Peppermint Patty was determindly staring at the floor, her face exactly as red. After taking a moment to fully register what had just happened most of the gang broke into applause and Snoopy, Woodstock and Sally gave wolf whistles, furthering Charlie Brown's embarassment.

A long moment of silence followed the cheering, which ended when Charlie Brown finally composed himself to say "Thanks for the card" Peppermint's Patty's face was still a tad red, but she had regained her usual enthusiasm and confidence, and also gained a flirtacious look.

"You're welcome Chuck, you sly dog you" Peppermint Patty teased, Charlie Brown's blush returned in full force, but this time he did not turn away but merely smiled at the girl.

"Well, what are you waiting for, a permission slip? Kiss her!" Sally yelled, there was a loud whooshing noise and Charlie Brown vanished in a dust cloud that rivalled Pigpen's. His friends spotted him over at the dinner table holding a knife and fork and wearing a bib.

"Who wants cake?" Charlie Brown asked in a squeaky voice, all but Peppermint Patty burst out laughing.

After being informed by his mother that he couldn't get started on the cake until after his birthday dinner, Charlie Brown finally made a start at opening his birthday cards, which he was quite as excited to open as his presents. And why shouldn't he be, every Valentines day he received zero valentines while Snoopy got a whole waggon full, every Christmas he sent cards to everyone he knew but got none in return and of course, most people tended to forget all his birthday's before this one, so this was the first time he could remember getting any birthday cards.

Most of the cards were pretty basic, most of them just had happy birthday written on the inside and an image of a present on the front of them, though some bore more elaborate birthday messages, and Linus's had looked handmade. Though most of his friends hardly considered these cards much compared to the presents, Charlie Brown considered each of them a small treasure.

Charlie Brown spent five minutes expressing his extreme gratitude for the cards as his dad lined them up along the shelf.

"By the way dad, did that letter from Hogwarts come yet?" Charlie Brown asked, suddenly remembering the lack of such letters in the mailbox. The whole gang stared expectantly at Richard Brown, who let out a sigh.

"I'm afraid not Charlie, and considering how long it's taking... I suppose it's not unexpected, Hogwarts is a British school of magic, they probably don't have a lot of students from America there. I would hope they'd hurry up though, or it'll be too late. I'm worried it is actually, they sorted your mother out before the end of July, and it's the middle of August" Mr Brown lamented.

Charlie Brown took note of the disappointment on most of his friends faces. While Linus and Sally weren't due to start wizard school until next year anyway, and Shermy, Rerun and Franklin only knew about Hogwarts because they were already aware of their friends magical abilities anyway (How could Shermy not be, his clothes disappeared in front of the whole school!). Charlie Brown was sure that if they were not trying to be nice to him, his friends would be yelling at him over the lack of Hogwarts letters.

Dinner was a fantastic event. Mrs Brown had went well out of her way to appease her adoptive son and his friends with her cooking. The meal consisted of plates upon plates of fried chicken, french fries, burgers and hot dogs, mashed potatoes and salad (Wouldn't want it all to be unhealthy, would we) pizza and a bunch of other yummy foods that would take up too much space to write. For refreshments there was rootbeer and coca-cola, and for desert, nothing. Hey, had to leave room for cake, right?

After everyone had had their fair share of delishious food _("I coud never eat another bite"_ Snoopy thought, then reached for a chicken wing. Woodstock stared at him in disgust) Charlotte Brown announced that it was finally time to cut the cake.

"Hooray!" The kids all cheered.

After a rousing song of "Happy birthday to you" Charlie Brown made to blow out his candles. But on the first try, none of them went out. Charlie Brown chuckled nervously and made annouther attempt to blow the candles out. Still no luck. The third time it looked like the candle on the very end was about to go out, but still burned brightly. Slightly discouraged, Charlie Brown took as deep a breath as he could muster without suffocating and blew at the candles, which all went out at once. Everyone cheered for Charlie Brown, until the candles suddenly reignited themselves. Charlie Brown slapped his forehead and muttered "Rats"

"Of good grief! Here, let me do it" Lucy said irritably, and before Charlie Brown could say anything she had extinguished the candles in one big puff. The other guests clapped half heartedly, but this turned into thunderous applause when Mrs Brown began to cut the cake.

Naturally, Charlie Brown was given the first and largest piece of cake since it was his birthday, but it would be the only piece he would get, considering the amount of guests here at the party. There was a minor disagreement with Snoopy not getting any cake, but Linus insisted that chocolate was poisonous to dogs.

_"So what does that have to do with anything?"_ Snoopy mentally protested. Despite his obvious canine tendancies, Snoopy normally refused to accept that he was, in fact, a dog. Of course he knew, but he just liked to think he wasn't.

And with the presents opened and the cake consumed, the real fun began. And by fun, I mean games. The children spent the next hour playing traditional party games like twister and truth or dare. Charlie Brown had cleverly opted to go to the bathroom when asked to join in, but he ended up involved in it anyway, as one of the dares Violet was forced to carry out was kissing him on the lips. He wasn't complaining, but she would be for the next six years.

"Maybe all these hugs and kisses are a sign that your luck with the ladies is finally changing" Linus suggested.

"Maybe" Charlie Brown couldn't help but hope his friend was right. Then a wicked thought came to mind, more sinister than anything Charlie Brown had ever thought up "Linus, could you do me a special favour, since it's my birthday?"

"Sure Charlie Brown, what is it?" Linus asked curiously.

"Promise you'll do it, no matter how crazy it sounds?" Charlie Brown asked with a wide smirk.

"I swear on my blanket I will" Linus said, though he was starting to feel a bit nervous.

"I want you to go up to my sister and give her a kiss on the cheek" Charlie Brown replied smoothly. Linus almost had a heart attack.

"ARE YOU CRAZY! No way!" Linus protested loudly, drawing many curious looks. Charlie Brown grinned ever wider, he was not accustomed to teasing his friends, but considering how good he felt today and feeling more than just a little confident, he thought, just why not?

"You said you'd do it, even if it was crazy" Charlie Brown reminded him. Linus looked ready to argue, but admitted defeat when Charlie Brown added "You swore on your blanket"

Linus clutched said security blanket and sighed loudly. With his head facing the floor he walked up to Sally, who was gossiping with Freida, asked if he could have her attention and gave her a quick smooch on the cheek. Needless to say Sally nearly exploded with joy and cheered to the heavens that her sweet babboo had kissed her. Linus slumped away into a corner looking angry, but Charlie Brown was certain he saw a smile on his face when he thought no one was looking.

"Now that was surprisingly evil of you son" Mr Brown chuckled.

"I know, but hey, someone has to get Linus to open up before it's too late" Charlie Brown replied, to another chuckle from his father. Richard soon turned serious however.

"By the way, may I speak with you in the kitchen for a moment?" He asked, Charlie Brown nodded and followed him there.

"So, as long as there hasn't been a change in the British school systems that I'm unaware of, you and your friends should be receiving your Hogwarts letters... well, you should have gotten them weeks ago, but I suppose these thing can't be helped, even when magic's involved. You should be getting them soon now, and I feel I must ask. Have you told your friends about... about your real parents and Voldemort?" Mr Brown asked seriously.

"Um, no I haven't" Charlie Brown replied, caught off guard by the question. His father sighed heavily.

"Look Charlie, this isn't something I would normally make you recall to people unless you felt willing to do so, but you have little other choice. While you and Sally were completely unaware of your role in Voldemort's downfall until just under a year ago, the entire wizarding world was not" Mr Brown said firmly "Once you get to school, children from every year will know your name, the greatest wizards from all over Great Britain will be eager to meet you. They'd come from all over the country just to shake your hand. I know that may sound rediculous to you, but after all, you were responsible for the downfall of the most feared dark wizard in history, and the end of a twenty something year old war against him. Since before you could walk or talk you were famous among your own people Charlie, and none of those people, and especially not your fellow students will avoid the chance to tell your friends all about why you're such a big name. It's better for you, as their friend, to sit down and talk about it, you should know that"

As Charlie Brown's father sent him back into the living room just as the others were starting up their famous "Peanut dance" he couldn't help but agree with his father. Whether he wanted to talk about it, his friends had to know.

He already knew they suspected something, he and Sally had given no good explanation about how they knew about Hogwarts and the wizarding world. And though they had always carefully avoided the issue, Charlie Brown could hear his friends talking about it behind his back, whispering all sorts of things that held no truth whatsoever. He had been tempted many times to reveal to them his secret, but never had the nerve.

But now he had to have the nerve, Charlie Brown didn't like the thought of his friends accusing him of not telling them he was famous, they would certainly do that now that he had kept it secret for so long. But hey, he didn't even understand what he was famous for. He still believed he couldn't have possibly put a stop to a wizard tyrant even if he were fully trained in magic. His father was right though, it would be a whole lot worse if they only found out from some stranger in the wizarding world asking for his autograph. He had to do it, that was the only right way to go about this.

"I wonder if any of them will stop laughing long enough to believe me?" Charlie Brown thought miserably.

"Hey Chuck, why so glum? You in trouble with your dad?" Asked Peppermint Patty, who was the only one among her friends not dancing.

"Oh, no, it's nothing" Charlie Brown replied, Peppermint Patty was uncovinced, but since it was his birthday she decided not to pressure him into telling her. She could do that tomorrow.

"Had a good birthday then Chuck?" Patty asked, hoping it would cheer him up.

"Oh, it didn't seem like it was going to be good at first, but since I got back, I'm having the best birthday ever" Charlie Brown replied honestly, Peppermint Patty smiled widely at this.

"That's good. So, you gonna dance?" Peppermint Patty asked, gesturing to the crowded dance floor. Charlie Brown considered refusing, he was a terrible dancer and the last thing he wanted to do was make a fool out of himself like that. But something about Peppermint Patty's expactant face made him nod reluctantly.

"Great, let's get started!" Peppermint Patty exclaimed, and Charlie Brown was shocked and embarassed when she dragged him off to do the hokey pokey. He'd only meant to take part in the dance by himself, not with her. He had no choice now though, and he was forced to spend the next half hour making sure not to trip on his own two feet.

By the time the first few dances had ended, Charlie Brown slumped down in the armchair. He felt he had made a terrible dancing partner, though Peppermint Patty did optomistically point out that he had done better than the last dance he'd (unintentionally) invited her to.

Charlie Brown turned his head anxiously to the clock. 7:30.

"Good grief" Charlie Brown muttered inaudibly, if it was getting that late he knew his friends would have to go home soon. And he still hadn't told them about his parents and Voldemort. He knew he really ought to, the sooner the better.

But of course, why not tomorrow. Tomorrow he would have all the time in the world to explain to them about his and Sally's past. Yes, tomorrow did seem better, it's not like the mail man was going to come charging through the door with their Hogwarts letters. It could wait, he didn't have to tell them now, he could do it tomorrow. Or the day after, that would be good.

No it wouldn't. Charlie Brown knew it wouldn't. He couldn't delay telling them, if he did he would just find himself coming up with more excuses not to tell them, he knew he would. He'd waited too long already, he had to do it soon, or they could be so hurt afterwards that they'd never speak to him again. And God knows Charlie Brown would have no intention of living anymore if the people who bothered to associate with him rejected him completely. He thought he would even miss Violet and Patty's mocking him as they drifted off into a never ending ignorance of him.

"Big brother, what's wrong?" Sally asked, Snoopy, Woodstock and Spike at her side staring curiously at him.

"Just making up my mind" Charlie Brown replied stoically.

_"And that's so difficult? Just take a girl by her hand and wisk her away with your superb dancing and manliness" _Snoopy though romantically. Woodstock and Spike exchanged glances and rolled their eyes at the same time.

Charlie Brown stared determindly at the ground, surely, surely his friends would find it in their hearts to forgive him on his birthday. Surely they could overlook his keeping secrets from them, like they had overlooked all his other shortcomings and joined together to give him this swell party. Surely they would. And when you came to think about it, this was a pretty understandable thing to not tell them about. It wasn't exactly a happy story, his parents being murdered, and even Sally could not find it in her heart to confess to her friends. Yes, surely he could tell them.

"Sally, I think it's time we told everyone" Charlie Brown said finally.

"Told them what?" Sally said, trying to feign ignorance but outright refusing to look her brother in the eye.

"You know well what Sally. It's time we told them about our parents, about... how I'm supposed to have stopped him killing us" Charlie Brown replied sadly.

"Well maybe I don't wanna tell them!" Sally growled, gritting her teeth and the animals leaped back in fear. "Maybe I don't want to tell people, maybe I don't want to confirm it, make it so that stuff... really did... that they..."

Sally's voice broke and tears swelled up in her eyes, now Charlie Brown fully understood why she had not told anyone, why she had chosen to keep the past hidden. And he saw a year's worth of anguish escape from her in that one moment, as she latched onto her brother, letting her tears run down his back as she hugged him, pleading for comfort.

Charlie Brown patted his sister comfortingly on the back, not quite sure whether he should say something comforting because he'd probably goof it up and make her more upset. He allowed Sally to cry into his shoulder for a good five minutes, during which everyone had stopped whatever they happened to be doing to stare at this depressing scene. Well, Charlie Brown thought, there was certainly no getting out of this now.

"Sally" Charlie Brown said softly, deciding he couldn't bear to hear her cry for much longer "Sally, I know this has been hard on you, but you're never going to get anywhere by just not talking about it. If we both did that it wouldn't solve anything, and the others have a right to know. They're gonna find out anyway, how would you feel if we let someone in the wizarding world blurt it out and have everyone think we don't trust them?"

"That-" Sally sniffled, still wiping her eyes on her brothers shirt "That would... be up... upsetting"

"That's why we have to do it. And who knows" Charlie Brown whispered hopefully "Maybe once we've talked about it, we'll both feel a little better"

Sally didn't reply for a good three minutes, and when she did it was through a nod. Charlie Brown patted her shoulder comfortingly before facing his friends.

"Is something the matter Sally, you looked terribly depressed just now" Marcie said in concern, which was shared by everyone else present.

Charlie Brown felt as miserable as he had done the time he had lost the national spelling bee, he cleared his throat and began "May I have everybody's attention please?" This question was hardly worth asking, but Charlie Brown didn't care.

"I suppose you're all wondering why Sally's so upset all of a sudden. Well, it's not all of a sudden..." Charlie Brown said slowly, his friends eyed him suspiciously "I'm guessing she's been bottling it all up for nearly a year now, ever since the day Lucy blew up the wall. And that's because..." Charlie Brown hesitated, wondering just how he was going to continue that sentence, above the expectant gaze of the other kids, he saw his mother and father nod and motion him to continue. Charlie Brown hesitated for another moment and decided to rephrase his next sentence.

"You ever wonder why Sally and I found out so much about our powers, about magic?" Charlie Brown asked. There was much whispering between the friends, all clearly considering the perfect way to reply to that question. Surely however, a year must have been plenty of time to do so.

In the end, it was Franklin who asked the burning question "Are your parents wizards, Charlie Brown?"

"Yes, mine and Sally's parent's are wizards" Charlie Brown replied, and when everyone turned to stare respectfully at Richard and Charlotte Brown, he added "But they're not?"

Everyone stared in bewilderment at Charlie Brown, Lucy and Violet even looked like they thought he'd lost the plot. Charlie Brown tried to say something to answer their unspoken questions, but was beaten to it.

"He means our real parents, mom and dad here are our aunt and uncle. They adopted us" Sally said slowly and sadly.

His friends' reactions were more or less what Charlie Brown had expected, gasps and shouts of "What!" Filled the room, quite like when the revelation had been made to Charlie Brown and Sally, albeit quieter. Everyone sent a shocked glance to Mr and Mrd Brown, who both looked away, before turning on Charlie Brown. Though he tried not to meet anyone's eye, from what he could see out the edges of his own, many looked annoyed that they were only finding this out now.

"You might all want to take a seat" Charlie Brown said, taking up his own spot in the same armchair he'd sat in on that day his life was forever changed "I have a lot more stuff to get off my chest"

"_IIII IIIII II III?"_

_"You're right Woodstock" Snoopy nodded in an uncharictericstically glum manner "This can't go well. You get the tissues, I'll go get the sad music"_

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><p><strong>Tiger lover 16: Ok, that probably wasn't my best finishing line. But oh well. I really did consider<em> adding a whole little speech with Charlie Brown and, to a much lesser extent, Sally explaining it all to their friends. Of course, I thought the scene was too much of a repeat of the previous chapter, so next chapter I'll have an update describing everyone's thoughts on the matter and get straight to the point of the next chapter. Don't know when I'll update again, but hopefully soon. Until then, have a nice day.<em>**


	3. He's the keeper of keys, Charlie Brown

**Tiger lover 16: Ok, hello readers. First off, I want to apologoise if this chapter isn't as good as the last one. I'm not saying it's terrible, please don't stop reading, I just had a hard time writing it and I'm not completely satisfied. You see, as I'm sure you're aware by the title, this story is a retelling of Harry Potter with the Peanuts characters, though it uses characters from Harry Potter too. As Richard and Charlotte Brown are in no way the Dursley's, much of this chapter I had to come up with completely off my head, and since I've also never written for Hagrid and I wasn't sure how to adapt this scene since Charlie Brown already knows he's a wizard, I had trouble. It's really more of a continuation anyway, I originally meant to include Hagrid at the end of the last chapter along with that little speech I mentioned in my last note, but I decided it would make the chapter too long and detract from it's main focus, Charlie's birthday, so I added that stuff here. It's not as bad as it could have been, I went over and edited a lot of stuff, my main concern was that there were too many characters that didn't serve much purpose other than watching as bystanders, but the way I set things up got me into that situation anyway, so it's my own fault. I promise the next chapter will be better, for now I hope you can enjoy this chapter. And if you don't, forgive me. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 2, He's the Keeper of Keys, Charlie Brown<strong>

9 'O clock. That's what time it was when Charlie Brown had finally finished retelling the tragedy of his and Sally's early childhood. How their wizarding parents had died at the hands of a dark wizard, who had then tried to kill Charlie Brown only to somehow fail and lose his powers.

It had been a most difficult task, Charlie Brown could completely apprecipate how hard it must have been for his parents to tell him and Sally. Though thankfully he had help from Sally and his parents whenever he nervously gave an incorrect statement or was asked a question he felt too depressed to answer. He could have done without the music Snoopy was playing however.

All the while, Charlie Brown worried how his friends were all going to react to the many revelations he was pouring onto them. All the while he worried, who would be first? Who would be the first to yell at him for not telling them everything as soon as he had known. Or Sally, for that matter.

But no one did. Though they were all clearly disappointed at only finding out about this tonight, none of them said anything harsh. Even Violet and Lucy, the two meanest girls in the room, had failed to put him down. Which in Charlie Brown's opinion was a greater miracle than turning Snoopy green.

In fact, when Charlie Brown had finally finished recounting everything his parents had told him about his and Sally's backstory, he had drifted off into a speech about how sorry he was for keeping so much from his friends and how they had every right to think of him as a terrible friend and he understood if they never wanted to speak to him again.

"Now stop that Charlie Brown!" Lucy had been the first to shout out. Charlie Brown blinked in surprise at her outburst, and he and Sally had been absolutely delighted when the other Peanuts had gone on to say that despite being upset about not being told, they did not blame Charlie Brown or Sally for not telling them, and if any of them had been in the same situation, they wouldn't have told anyone else either. Charlie Brown could never express how grateful he felt for every last one of his friends.

"Although..." Violet began thoughtfully, Charlie Brown's heart began to sink "The part about you beating this Voldemort guy, I'm not buying"

Oh boy, here it goes.

"But hey, stranger things have happened" Peppermint Patty pointed out "Remember when I got an A on that test?"

Everyone had a good laugh at this, and Charlie Brown was so relieved to hear them do so. It really took his mind off all the worry that had just been filling it.

"Well, there's only one way to find out whether or not it's true" Linus said when everyone else had stopped laughing. He then asked "Charlie Brown, do you really have that scar?"

Charlie Brown placed a hand over his head and pushed aside the unseeable hair that covered his lightning bolt scar. The gasps that followed were as loud as the ones the gang had given when Charlie Brown first mentioned his parents murder by Voldemort. It was just that shocking though, to have such an unnatural scar seemingly appear out of the blue on Charlie Brown's forehead.

"You gotta admit, that does look really cool" Rerun said in awe, and though no one said anything, they all secretly agreed with him.

"So that's where the curse struck you?" Shermy asked.

"And it rebounded and... well, I don't know what it really did to him" Charlie Brown admitted "All we know is that he disappeared straight after and no one ever saw him again"

"Wow" The gang said in unison. Wow? Charlie Brown couldn't help but feel proud of himself, he had been certain that no one would ever, ever believe not even for the slightest second that he'd fought back Voldemort, but though they themselves were doubtful they had the decency to express amazement for his one great achievment.

_"Fancy that bro, I'm being fed by a true wizarding hero" Snoopy bragged, Spike patted him on the back._

After Charlie Brown answered a few of his friends questions and Sally had gotten the chance to moan "Well what about me, I survived him too, doesn't that make me interesting?" Mr and Mrs Brown announced it was time to end the discussion.

"Sorry about this but you've all got to go home now, otherwise your parents are likely to call the police on us" Richard Brown said only half-jokingly, they really might do that.

"But don't worry, I'm sure our son and daughter will be more than happy to discuss things further tomorrow" Charlotte Brown said, and the guests all took note of how she emphasised the words Son and Daughter. While they did all think it was weird to suddenly find out they weren't the real parents of Charlie and Sally, none of them had any problems with the whole adoption concept, and most took it as a suitable reason for why Mr Brown actually had visible hair.

After some more hurried questions to Charlie Brown and Sally, the Peanuts gang gathered up their coats and any other possesions they had brought with them, as well as their party favours. They were only halfway through saying their goodbye's and last minute happy birthdays to Charlie Brown however when they were silenced by a very loud thumping noise that echoed throughout the house.

Everyone froze in place, not quite sure what to make of the noise. The booming sound returned a few seconds later, and everyone realised it was coming from the door.

"It's for you, Charlie Brown" Lucy said urgently and pushed Charlie Brown into the hallway.

Charlie Brown stared nervously at the thumping door, deliberating whether he should run away or hide behind the couch. He didn't have time to make a decision however, because after the next three knocks the door suddenly flew off it's hinges and nearly squashed Charlie Brown.

The children, parents and anthropomorphic animals rushed into the hallway to see what was happening, and they all leapt back in horror at what they saw. A huge, furry something was making it's way through the door, and it was over twice as tall as Mr Brown and five times as wide. When the figure emerged through the doorway, the kids screamed, seeing him to be a giant man in a horrible moleskin coat who's hair and beard were so wild and ungroomed that they obscured most of his face. However, the part of his face they could all see looked... rather embarassed.

"Sorry about that" The giant said in a nervous but rough voice, he took a step forward and the gang shuddered, but all he did was pick up the door and put it back into place, though the hindges would still need repairing.

There was a moments silence, no one was quite sure what to make of any of this. The giant stared down at them all with curiosity, and then finally asked "Would any of you happen ter be.." The giant pulled out a grubby looking piece of paper and began to read off it "Patricia Reichard, Marcie Johnstone, Lucy Van Pelt, Schroeder Evans, Freida Jones, Violet Gray, Patty Roberts and... er, Pigpen?"

Everyone who's name had been called nodded, too scared to speak. The giant smiled and gave a hearty laugh.

"Wonderful, jus' wonderful. You just saved me a whole bunch more trips" The Giant chuckled, but then noticed some of the other kids "And who are you?"

"The boys with similar hairstyles are Linus and Rerun Van Pelt, Lucy's brothers, you would already know our daughter Sally and son Charlie while the two other boys have not shown signs of magic, but they are such close friends with our children they have been allowed in on the secret anyway" Mr Brown answered calmly. His words caused much bemusement to Charlie Brown and friends, but the giant smiled.

"Well, that clears up a lot" He said cheerfully and, despite his unnatural size, squeezed his way past everyone and into the living room.

"Fancy making us a cuppa, it's been a long trip, much longer and a lot harsher than I'd bin expecting" The giant said in a pleasant manner, Richard Brown whispered to his wife "Cuppa means tea" And Charlotte made to boil the kettle.

"Oh, here, let me give yeh me mug" Said the giant, and from his oversized coat he pulled out an old, chipped mug the size of a bucket. Poor Mrs Brown nearly collapsed when he handed it to her and scuttled off into the kitchen. The children stared anxiously as the giant wandered through the room and plopped himself down on the couch, which nearly collapsed under his great weight.

"Yeah, it's bin a rough time getting 'ere" The giant said less pleasantly "First I gotta fly all the way over to this continent, then by chance I happen' ter crash me motorcycle inter some giant green statue in New York-the mayor wasn't happy with me-and then of course I had to stop at a pub. Ended up getting into a row with a drunken vampire, spent a week in the hospital. Hope professor Dumbledore will ever forgive me for being so darn late"

"I'm sure he will Hagrid" Mr Brown said, giving the giant a comforting pat on the elbow, since he could not reach his shoulder easily.

Vampire? Dumbledore? Hagrid? While the latter name was unknown to Charlie Brown, the name Dumbledore, he was sure, was that of the Hogwarts headmaster, whom his father had mentioned before. And Charlie Brown realized, this giant man, Hagrid, had been sent from Hogwarts to see them. He must have been sent to invite them there.

Hagrid's shiny black eyes met Charlie Brown's for the first time, he smiled a happy smile and his voice boomed "There yeh are!" The intensity of Hagrid's voice caused every one of Charlie Brown's friends to fall over. When they shook off the impact, everyone stared at Charlie Brown, as though willing him to explain.

"Charlie... and Sally. God, it's been years" Hagrid announced "Boy how you've grown. Why, the las' time I saw the two of you, yeh were just sweet little babies. I could fit yeh both in the palm of one hand... course, tha's not very hard ter believe, is it?" Hagrid said, displaying his hands to the children, they were the size of dustbin lids.

"Umm..." Sally began, all eyes were on her as she worked up the courage to speak "Who are you?"

"Rebeus Hagrid, keeper of keys at Hogwarts. 'Course yeh'll know all about Hogwarts" Hagrid said as he removed a pack of sausages from his coat, along with a poker and a bottle of some amber coloured liquid, which he took a swig of before stowing it away again.

At the first mention of Hogwarts everyone's heads perked up, and there was much muttering between the friends. Hagrid seemed not to noticed this as he pulled out a pink umbrella and, to yelps from most of them, a fire burst to life in the fireplace.

"I thought you yourself weren't allowed to do magic Hagrid?" Mr Brown said, not at all intimidated by Hagrid's size and looking all too familiar with him.

"Well I've had too, how else was I supposed ter get here from Scotland? 'Course, I really shoulda jus' taken a portkey. I've already arranged for one to take the kids back with me ter London tomorrow, get all their supplies for school" Hagrid replied, placing the sausages in a saucepan he'd extracted from his coat and heating them over the fire.

"And I suppose you would like some help explaining this to all their parents?" Richard asked sternly.

"I would be much obliged" Hagrid said with a shrug, Richard Brown placed a hand on his forehead in frustration.

Charlie Brown felt someone nudge his shoulder and turned to face Lucy.

"Psst, ask him what's going on about Hogwarts" Lucy whispered. Charlie Brown would have liked to argue with her, but reluctantly agreed. But first, there was another question he'd like to ask.

"Erm... m-mr Hagrid?" Charlie Brown murmered, Hagrid turned away from his sausages to look at him.

"Jus' call me Hagrid, makes me feel odd when someone calls me mr" Hagrid said cheerfully.

"Erm, ok... Hagrid. How do you know who Sally and I are?" Charlie Brown asked, Hagrid looked bemused.

"Well why wouldn't I know the two of you, yer mum and dad were such great people and good friends of mine. In fact, it was me who rescued yeh from their house after... well, I'm guessin' you're all aware of what happened" Hagrid said, clearly not wanting to go too far into that memory.

"You rescued us?" Sally asked uncertainly.

"Well sure, after you-know-who came an' ruddy blew their place apart, I went in ter find yeh both and brought you here. Spent a long day flying over the Atlantic ocean in Sirius Black's flying motorcycle, which he'd lent ter me after he'd lost his license joyriding. Thank God I found the boosters on that thing, or it would've taken me a week" Hagrid recounted, then turned irritably to Richard Brown "How come you never told 'em that?"

"I didn't know, you left them on our doorstops. Never even opened the door to say hi" Mr Brown replied dryly.

"We didn't want ter intrude on yer... um" Hagrid hesitated, glancing down at the children with a blush prominent on what could be seen of his face. He leaned in to Richard and whispered "Yer little love fest"

Richard Brown turned bright red at this statement and asked in a squeaky, nervous voice "You heard that?"

"I'm pretty sure they could hear back in England" Hagrid replied with a chortle.

Charlie Brown and friends all wondered just what Hagrid had said to leave Mr Brown looking so flustered, but thankfully they were unable to ask as Charlotte Brown trudged into the room dragging the bucket sized mug of tea, unable to carry it now that it was full.

"Why thank you Mrs Brown" Hagrid said and gratefully took the bucket sized mug out of her hands. He had no problem lifting it up to his mouth, given the bulk of his arms.

"Too strong?" Charlotte panted, noticing the look on Hagrid's mostly hidden face.

"Nah, s'not that. I jus' can't get used ter this American stuff, I'm so used ter the local brew" Hagrid replied, and though he looked a bit uncomfortable with it he had enough manners to keep drinking the tea.

"So, you're the one that found us in our home, and you brought us here to live with mom and dad, on a flying motorcycle?" Sally asked, everyone fantasised about flying through the air on a motorcycle.

"Tha's right" Hagrid said with a nod, the kids all stared up admiringly at Hagrid. All except Sally, who suddenly looked anxious.

"So, does that mean it's true?" Sally was beaten to the punch by Freida, Hagrid motioned her to clarify as he took another gulp of tea "Did Charlie Brown really stop Voldemort?"

Hagrid's immediate response was to choke violently on his tea and drop his mug onto the floor, creating a puddle that covered half the room. The children all lept back with fright and Spike tripped over and knocked himself unconscious while Hagrid coughed loudly for a minute on end.

"Don't say that name!" Hagrid howled, looking petrified.

"Why not?" Asked Charlie brown.

"WHY NOT?" Hagrid shouted, Charlie Brown barely managed to stay on his feet with the vibrations "Sorry, but I don' like hearin' the name, never say it meself if I can help it. Nobody does, even now he's gone people are still afraid. Afraid he's gonna come back and kill more people, finish what he started and take over"

"So does that mean Charlie Brown did or didn't kill him?" Lucy asked, Hagrid snorted distastefully at her suggestion.

"Doubt it, I don' think he had enough human left in him ter die" Hagrid said grimly, resulting in many gulps from Charlie Brown and friends.

"So then what did Charlie Brown do to Vol-" Violet began, but stopped herself when Mr Brown shook his head violently "You-Know-Who, if he's not dead then what happened to him?"

"I don't know, that there's a myst'ry to everyone" Hagrid replied, and seeing the disappointed looks spreading about he added "All anyone knows is that when he tried ter kill Charlie, something about yer friend stopped him. Some say he died, but I don't think so. I think he's still out there, bidin' his time, broken and without his powers. You should be proud of yerself" He added to Charlie Brown, who looked flustered.

"How can I be proud of something I don't even remember doing?" Charlie Brown asked, feeling frustrated by what he considered undeserved praise.

"He's always like this, always doubting himself and feeling depressed" Sally explained to Hagrid, who nodded in an understanding way.

"Well who wouldn't be, with all he's had ter go through" Hagrid said softly, then with a glance down at Sally he said "The two of you in fact. I've had me fair share of problems in life, but I dunno how I'd feel if I was in yer shoes"

Mrs Brown made to get a mop to clean up the ever growing puddle of tea on the floor, but Hagrid waved his umbrella and said "No, no, let me, 's my fault anyway"

The kids watched with bated breath, all eager to see a bit of professional magic, and all were excited to see the tea puddle flow back into the somehow undamaged mug, which was lifted into the air where Hagrid took it in his enormous hand. Charlie Brown and friends clapped appreciatively, Hagrid smiled and stared down into his mug.

"Better pour this down the drain, it ain't no good now" Hagrid said, he got up to go into the kitchen but was stopped by Peppermint Patty.

"Wait, aren't you here to give us our Hogwarts letters" Peppermint Patty asked, Hagrid looked at her uncertainly for a moment before his eyes widened and the giant man slapped his forehead.

"Blimey, I nearly forgot!" Hagrid yelled, slamming the mug down and hurriedly rummaging through his coat "I'll get yeh're letters in a minute, I gotta write to Dumbledore first, tell him I'm picking you up now"

The children watched as Hagrid pulled several more items out of his moleskin coat such as a bottle of ink and a quill, a roll of parchment, a shaving kit that looked dusty and had clearly never been opened, a small figurine of a creature with the body of a horse and the head, forelegs and the wings of an eagle, several live mice (Patty and Violet screamed as they rushed passed them while one of the mice climbed up on Sally's shoulder and she declared it cute) and finally a small, scruffy looking owl.

Charlie Brown and friends stared curiously at the owl, why on earth would Hagrid be carrying it in his pocket? It made sense for why he also carried around mice, but it was also an absurd thing to do, even if you were a wizard. Hagrid patted the owl tenderly with one finger, probably to avoid crushing it with his huge hand, and began scribbling something on the parchment. He was halfway through writing the letter when he stopped, looked thoughtful for a second then stored the parchment, the owl and all his other things back into his coat.

"On second thought, I'll write the letter to Dumbledore tomorrow when we're in London. Hogwarts is a long way for an owl to fly from here" Hagrid admitted and rummaged through his coat again.

"What do you use owl's for then?" Asked Schroeder.

"To send letters, what else?" Hagrid replied, perking the interests of the kids. Owl's to deliver letters. A strange concept, but an interesting one. Charlie Brown could just imagine an owl landing down next to him with a letter in it's beak waiting for him to take it. He also imagined the owl snapping at his fingers as he accidentally pulled the letter out too hard.

"Now le's see here, I know I had those le-OI, get away from me supper!" Hagrid suddenly yelled, for Snoopy had been trying to sneak a few of Hagrid's sausages off Hagrid's frying pan. Snoopy turned to Hagrid with a nervous expression and snuck off into the kitchen, Woodstock following behind him while dragging the unconscious Spike. "Nosy dog" Hagrid muttered, bending down to turn his sausages over with the poker he had earlier extracted before going back to rummaging through his coat.

"Sorry about that" Charlie Brown said meekly, refering to Snoopy attempting to pilfer Hagrid's sausages.

"It's alright, just what dogs do, they all can't resist fine meat when it's... ah, here we are!" Hagrid announced, pulling out a stack of letters. The Hogwarts acceptance letters. The letters Charlie Brown and friends had been waiting for all summer!

"Ok, so, who wants to open their letters first?" Hagrid asked, there was a massive outburst from the Peanuts gang, most of whom were swinging their hands through the air and begging for their letters while Shermy, Franklin, Linus and Rerun moped in the corner.

"Alright, alright calm down. Which of you is Patricia Reichard?" Hagrid asked over the kids screaming.

"I AM!" Sally yelled quickly, Hagrid smirked knowingly at her and turned to the other girls.

"Actually I am, but most people just call me Peppermint Patty" Peppermint Patty spoke up, Hagrid handed her the letter with a friendly smile.

"Interestin' nickname. But why Peppermint?" Hagrid asked curiously. All he got in return was a hasty "Don't ask!" From Patty, and a quiet snicker from Marcie.

While everyone was wondering the meaning of Peppermint Patty's nickname, which they had somehow never pondered before, Hagrid called out for "Marcie Johnstone"

"Thank you Sir" Marcie responded when she received her Hogwarts letter, Hagrid looked baffled by her formalness. Perhaps he had never before had someone refer to him as "Sir"

"Ok, who's Schroeder?" Hagrid asked. Schroeder raised his hand and accepted his letter. Hagrid handed out letters to Violet, Patty, Lucy and Freida before stopping at Pigpen.

"So, is Pigpen yer real name, or is it jus' a mistake it's written here?" Hagrid asked oddly.

"Well, I don't think it's my real name, but I don't know any other name for myself" Pigpen admitted, Hagrid took this as a reasonable answer.

"Why do they call yeh Pigpen anyway?" Hagrid asked as he handed out the letter, Violet and Patty gaped at him.

"Why do we call him... it's because he a stupid dust magnet, that's why" Violet said irritably, Pigpen looked downhearted.

"Oh, yeah..." Hagrid said, realizing his oversight "Good thing he's yer friend then, yeh won't be too shocked ter see yer Herbology teacher. And trust me when I say, professor Sprout has never been clean"

While Violet and Patty looked horrified at the thought of having a teacher as messy as Pigpen, who looked delighted, Hagrid turned at long last to Charlie Brown.

Charlie looked up nervously at Hagrid. Not because of his size, but because now he was nervous at finally receiving his Hogwarts letter. He had waited months for this letter and now, it was here. His ticket into the magical world, the thing that would confirm his place in wizarding society. And he was scared. For the first time he wondered, what if he did terrible at school. What if he couldn't control his magic properly, and they told him he'd have to go home and never come back.

And what if he did have to go. He hadn't thought too much about it, but he'd be living away from his family for an entire school year halfway around the world. And what if he wasn't allowed to bring Snoopy with him, he couldn't survive without at least some part of his family there with him. He didn't want to be alone, he just couldn't stand it.

"Charlie, CHARLIE" Hagrid's booming voice snapped Charlie Brown out of his nervous trance.

"You alright son, you zoned out there for a minute" Mr Brown said, and Charlie Brown noticed everyone was looking at him with concern.

"Oh. I'm fine, just nervous that's all" Charlie Brown replied honestly. Hagrid leaned down to give Charlie Brown a comforting pat on the shoulder, which nearly caused him to tumble over.

"Don' worry, it's perfectly normal to feel that way" Hagrid said comfortingy before finally handing Charlie Brown his letter.

The other Peanuts took this as a sign that they could now rip open the envelopes and read the letters inside them, Charlie Brown opened his slowly and carefully. He anxiously removed the roll of parchment and read it aloud:

"Dear Mr Brown,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term Begins on the 1st of September. We await your owl by no later than July 31st.

Yours sincerely

Minerva McGonagall  
>Deputy headmistress"<p>

We await your owl by no later than July 31st... GOOD GRIEF. Charlie Brown swapped horrified looks with each of his friends. They were too late. They had gotten their letters too late, now they would be unable to attend Hogwarts at all. And despite worrying over going just a moment ago, Charlie Brown felt a whole lot worse knowing he could not go. He just felt so hopeless, and the words "It's too late" Rang in his head, mocking him.

"Bet you're all thinking yer too late and you can't go, aren't yah?" Hagrid asked in a surprisingly cheerful tone, Charlie Brown and friends gazed up at him, praying for the best "Well, don' worry, I'm sure we can make an acception. Yeh're late, but tha's entirely my fault, so I'm sure we can get this sorted out. Wouldn't have had this problem with you Charlie, we meant ter send yeh a letter by owl, but the poor thing got blown back by a strong wind going over the sea, an' they needed someone to explain things ter all yeh're parents and I volunteered. So, don't worry, we'll just go get yer equipment tomorrow and you'll be all sorted to go to Hogwarts"

Sighs of relief filled the room and the looks of panic on the children's faces were replaced by eager smiles.

"God, that was a close one" Peppermint Patty sighed.

"It sure was" Charlie Brown nodded, wishing Snoopy had saved some of his streamers.

"So, where are we going to buy all this?" Freida asked, reading through the list that came with the letter.

"I'm sure I mentioned that, didn't I?" Hagrid wondered.

"You said we'd be going to London" Replied Marcie, who was more capable of remembering things on the spot than Freida.

"London? Cool, we get to go to London!" Lucy cheered.

"Ooh, I went there last Christmas, it's got all sorts of great places to shop" Patty said excitedly, Violet Lucy and Freida squealed in delight while Peppermint Patty, Marcie and all the boys just rolled their eyes.

"What is it with girls and shopping?" Schroeder asked Charlie Brown, and a piece of the cieling broke off and fell on his head.

"For the record, none of you should be using magic now that you're almost at school" Mr Brown scolded the girls, and amid several cries of protest he elaborated "It's illegal for any wizard under the age of seventeen to use magic outside of school without permission or unless it's during a life threatening situation. Since you haven't yet received your wands and much of the magic you've used in the past was accidental you won't be in any trouble, but once you're at Hogwarts, you are legally required to refrain from spell casting outside school grounds. Hey, don't look at me disappointed, that's what they told my sister when she was first accepted into Hogwarts"

"Well this takes some of the fun out of the experience, what's the point of learning magic if you can't use it whenever you want?" Lucy questioned angrily.

"Many people would agree with yeh on that, but hey, if we used magic all the time in places like this, muggles are bound to figure out about our world. And we wanna keep that a secret, can you imagine how many people would be begging us for magical solutions ter their simple problems?" Hagrid said seriously, and while most of the Peanuts still felt a bit grumpy about not being allowed to use their magic now, they reluctantly agreed to Hagrid's logic.

Now that that little disagreement was out of the way, Charlie Brown was curious about what supplies he would be needing for school. He knew to be a wizard he'd need more than just a pencil and some paper, but apart from the obvious wizarding tool, a wand, what else could he need. And what sort of books did wizards have.

Checking the envelope his shorter than expected letter had come from, Charlie Brown noticed an extra piece of paper with infinitely more writing on it. It read:

_"HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Uniform_

_First year students will require:_

_1. Three sets of plain work robes (Black)_  
><em>2. One plain pointed hat (Black) For day wear.<em>  
><em>3. One pair of protective gloves (Dragon hide or similar)<em>  
><em>4. One winter cloak (Black with silver fastenings)<em>

_Books_

_All students require a copy of each of the following:_

_The Standard book of spells Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk_  
><em>A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot<em>  
><em>Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling<em>  
><em>A Beginner's guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch<em>  
><em>A Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore<em>  
><em>Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger<em>  
><em>Fantastic Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander<em>  
><em>The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-protection by Quentin Trimble<em>_  
>A Year In the Life by J.K Rowling<em>

_It is also optional to bring a copy of The Art of Magic Machinery by Louis McDuff_

_Other Equipment_

_1 wand_  
><em>1 cauldron (Pewter, standard size 2) Spare cauldrons however are recommended<em>  
><em>1 set glass or crystal phials<em>  
><em>1 Telescope<em>  
><em>1 Set brass scales<em>

_Due to a change in policy and several student protests, Pet's which may be brought to Hogwarts, along with the original three selections of an owl, toad or cat, now include rats, mice, puffskeins, ferrets, most species of small birds and dogs. Each student however may only bring ONE pet of their choice, and they must be trained._

_PARENTS ARE REMIDED THAT STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS"_

Wow... just, wow. There was so much on this list that just made Charlie Brown think... wow.

The uniform really did sound like typical witch and wizard attire, what with black robes and pointy hats. Charlie Brown was reminded of the Halloween costume Lucy wore most every year, but without the hideous mask. They'd all be wearing something like that two weeks and four days from now. He supposed he couldn't complain, at least everyone else would be wearing the same thing. That would be a strange thought though, Charlie Brown had never worn a school uniform before, unless you considered his signature yellow zigzag shirt uniform.

And the books. Charlie Brown had a feeling that even Sally, who disliked reading, would be unable to put any of those books down. From the titles alone, Charlie Brown could tell these books would be a better read than Maths textbooks. However, he did stare curiously at the last book on the list, which seemed to have been scribbled in at the last minute. He also wondered why the Magical Machinery book was optional, perhaps it was an extra carricular subject. He supposed he wouldn't buy a copy, he'd already have enough to learn at Hogwarts.

And he was right, he would indeed need more than a wand. Charlie Brown supposed it was obvious that potions would come in somewhere in wizardry, most stories you read about witches showed them concocting at least one vile potion. He just hoped the cauldrons weren't too heavy. Charlie Brown could also understand the vials and scales, which would probably relate to potions in some way, but he wondered just what the telescope was for. What could looking out into space have to do with magic? Who knows, but maybe it would be fun to find out.

Charlie Brown stared curiously at the short passage about broomsticks. Why could a student not bring a broomstick to Hogwarts. Considering this was a magic school, he had a strong impression that broomstick could be used to fly. No need to tell him not to bring one, the mere thought of flying on a broomstick made Charlie Brown sick with worry. How was he supposed to hover who knows how many feet in the air with such little support, and if his magic didn't kick in before he hit the ground it would be lights out for good ol' Charlie Brown.

However, Charlie Brown was left feeling conflicted over the piece about pets. At first he had been overjoyed that he could bring Snoopy to Hogwarts with him, and that birds were also allowed to come. However, they had then made it quite clear that only ONE pet could be brought to the school. Which means, if Charlie Brown wanted to bring Snoopy, he would have to leave Woodstock behind.

Charlie Brown knew that wouldn't be fair on either of the duo. Ever since Woodstock had first met Snoopy, the two had been the best of friends. It was actually an understatement to say that Snoopy had more respect for Woodstock than he did Charlie Brown, he loved his little bird buddy. Through almost every one of Snoopy's fantasy life alter egos, Woodstock was always there by his side. When Snoopy needed a secratary Woodstock would always have his typewriter ready. And when World War II, the evil cat next door tried to eat poor Woodstock, Snoopy was always there to stand up for him, no matter how badly he got scratched. And that cat's scratches were deadly.

But what was he going to do. He really didn't want to leave Snoopy behind, for as little respect Snoopy often showed him as a master, Charlie Brown did in fact have a very loving relationship with his dog. It would be quite lonely without him, but he couldn't ask Snoopy to leave Woodstock behind. And who would look after the bird anyway, he wouldn't accept bird seed or bread crumbs, and he knew neither Sally or his parents would go digging up worms for Woodstock.

It wouldn't be a problem next year when Sally could attend Hogwarts, she could just tell people Woodstock was her pet and leave it at that. But this year she was too young to go. Would Charlie Brown be able to go a whole school year without Snoopy? And what would happen if he had to leave Sally in charge of feeding him... poor dog would probably starve. This was a huge dilemma, one that Charlie Brown had to sort out before he left.

"Are you sure we'll be able to find all this in London?" Schroeder asked loudly, snapping Charlie Brown back to reality.

"'S long as you know where to go" Hagrid replied mysteriously, grinning at the looks of wonder he'd inspired on the children "Well, now that you've got yer letters, any more questions you'd like to ask?"

Most of the children's hands were in the air when Hagrid said that. Hagrid took a moment to consider them before noticing Rerun raise his hand slowly from the corner of the room.

"I have one" Rerun said after Hagrid pointed him out "Shouldn't you be watching those sausages?"

Hagrid blinked at the youngest Peanut and turned to the fireplace, where a large cloud of smoke was being issued from the sausepan he had placed on it. With a noise like a wounded bear, Hagrid ducked down and pulled out the smoking saucepan, with the unintended effect of shrouding the room in smoke. Mr and Mrs Brown hurried to open the windows, allowing the smog to clear up. Needless to say, Hagrid's sausages were burnt beyond edibility.

"Argh... should 'ave kept an eye on that" Hagrid said glumly, but his grief was short lived and seconds later he was already shrugging it off and declaring his intentions to order pizza instead.

"Alright, any other questions?" Hagrid intended to ask, but he was cut off by the telephone. Richard Brown groaned miserably.

"I wonder who that could be?" Richard asked himself sarcastically before picking up the phone. Hagrid and the kids turned to face the clock. 10pm. Good grief, they'd already been an hour talking to Hagrid. How could that have taken an hour, that just didn't make sense.

"No Mrs Van Pelt, I am NOT doing anything innapropriate with your kids, thank you for asking" Mr Brown said moodily into the phone, but a loud squawking from the other end managed to unnerve him a bit "Look, I'll be there in a moment with Lucy, Linus and Rerun. And be warned, I have something... very bizarre to discuss with you about your two eldest children"

Richard Brown placed the phone back down with a sigh. "Did any of you happen to mention to your parents that you'll be studying at a wizarding school in Great Britain?" He asked ruefully.

"We didn't really know if it existed since all we had to go on was what Charlie Brown and Sally told us, and they didn't give any evidence of how they knew so we couldn't be sure" Linus replied, giving Charlie Brown a look that said he didn't mean to show distrust.

Ring, ring.

"Hello mr Gray" Richard answered monotonously "Uh-huh, uh-huh, you're angry, I get it. Could you meet up with us at the Van Pelt residence, I know it's late but I have a lot to explain to you... ok... ... yeah, see you then"

Not two seconds after Mr Brown had placed the phone down did it ring for the third time. Mr Brown slammed his forehead against the wall before answering.

"Hello Mrs Pigpen's mother" Richard covered up the phone after he said that and asked "Pigpen, what's your mother name. First or last?"

"Sorry, but I don't know either" Pigpen replied.

"How exactly do you write your signature on things?" Franklin asked curiously, receiving only a shrug in response.

When Mr Brown had finished talking to Pigpen's mother and asked her to meet him at the Van Pelt's house, Richard spent the next ten minutes answering the phone to the other parents, telling all but Shremy and Franklin's mother and father to meet up at Linus, Lucy and Rerun's home. By the final call, Richard looked like his sanity was hanging by a thread.

"Yes mr Jones, I'll see you there" Mr Brown said wearily, and before slamming the phone down he snapped "And for the last time, you can't sue me for giving your daughter a bad hair cut, so give it a rest already!"

Richard Brown sat in the armchair with his head in his hands, Charlotte patted him comfortingly on the shoulder while the kids just stared nervously at him.

"Sorry if we're about to cause you a lot of grief Mr Brown" Schroeder spoke for everyone.

"It's ok, it's ok" Mr Brown said in a strained voice, waving his hand in a moody fashion "My own fault anyway, I'm the only adult that knows anything about this wizard stuff and I never offered to help explain either. I should have thought of this" He craned his neck back to look Hagrid in the face "Hope you brought plenty of booze Hagrid, it's the only way I'm gonna survive once everybody's done yelling at me"

As Hagrid half heartily assured Richard that he always had plenty of alcohol to share, Rerun tugged at Charlie Brown's shirt and asked "What's booze?"

"I'm not entirely sure" Charlie Brown whispered back as his father got up and addressed the Peanuts gang.

"Alright, everyone. No need to look so glum, this is a happy day remember, happy happy happy, Charlie's eleven years old! Oh, happy day..." Richard chanted madly, to looks of utmost concern from everyone present. Everyone except Hagrid.

"Wait" Hagrid began, looking down at Charlie Brown "Your birthday, is it today" Charlie Brown nodded, only just now remembering that fact for himself. Hagrid looked like he was about to swear but caught himself and began rummaging once again through his coat "All that trouble getting here it slipped me mind, thank God I made yeh this before I left. Happy birthday" Hagrid announced, handing Charlie Brown a small box "Mighta gone just the tinies bit stale by now, but it should still taste fine"

While his father pranced around the room having a nervous breakdown, Charlie Brown flipped open the box to find a pink cake with the words "Happee birthday Charlee" Written in green iceing.

"Thank you" Charlie Brown replied sincerely, the elephant sized man smiled proudly and, as Richard passed he gave him a quick flick to the head, though Richard looked like he had received a hard punch.

"Snap outta it man" Hagrid grunted, Richard stared blankly into space for a moment before taking a deep breath and calming himself.

"Right, sorry you all had to see that" Richard said feebly, receiving only a few awkward chuckles.

"So, do we have to go home now? Honestly, I'm not sure I'm following what's going on this chapter" Said a confused Franklin, his sentiments were shared by the other children.

"Yeah, we'd best be takin' you home" Hagrid replied, he picked up his mug of tea and threw it's contents out the window before placeing it back in his moleskin coat.

"Wish us luck" Richard Brown muttered to his wife.

"Just promise me you won't come home drunk as an Irishman on New Year's Eve" Charlotte told her hudband in a mock stern voice, Richard smiled weakly.

As Richard rummaged about for his car keys and coat, Charlie Brown placed the box with his second birthday cake on the table with his pile of birthday pesents. A pink cake, that certainly was curious. Though hesitant, Charlie Brown pulled off a small piece of Hagrid's cake and put it in his mouth.

"Strawberry flavour" Charlie Brown said, in response to the look of wonder Sally gave him.

"Well, everyone say your goodbyes, we have to go now before your parents really do call the cops on me" Richard replied, rushing out of the closet with his baggy coat. The gang gathered around Charlie Brown.

"So, be honest with us Charlie Brown. Did you have a good birthday?" Linus asked. Noticing his friends were all watching him expectantly Charlie Brown took a brief moment to contemplate exactly how he would phrase his answer.

"Well, it started out as bad as any other birthday of my life. I had a rough morning and spent most of the day afterwards looking for friends who seemed intent on either avoiding me or just trying to bring me down" Charlie Brown began, and when his friends all looked at him with a mix of pity and wonder, he smiled and added "But you know what, I was wrong. And for the first time in my life, that's a good thing. Once I got home I had the best birthday of my life! And while the presents, the food and the cards were all nice, what really makes this day special... what makes this the best birthday of my life, is that you all came together to throw me this wonderful party. That you all came to be with me on this day to make me feel special. And even when I told you about my real parents and Voldemort-"

Hagrid yelped in terror and fell back against the cough, which collapsed under his weight.

"Sorry Hagrid" Charlie Brown apologised, Hagrid waved his hand nonchelantly and Charlie Brown continued "When I told you that, you didn't get mad at me. You didn't reprimend me for keeping such a huge secret from you for almost a year, and though I know you still don't believe I could have stopped the greatest dark wizard alive-and I agree with you on that-you were still kind enough to stay friends with me. And you know what, of all the wonderful things in this world, there's nothing greater than having true friends like you. Yes Linus, I did have a good birthday, and it's all thanks to you guys"

Charlie Brown's speech brought smiles to every one of his friends faces, and as Hagrid and Richard finally scurried them out through the door the Peanuts joined together for one last "HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLIE BROWN"

"Thanks. I'll see you all tomorrow" Charlie Brown waved cheerfully.

"Right you will. We'll be leaving by about half pas' ten, but yeh might wanna get up early ter get ready. Gonna be a busy day tomorrow. Good night Charlie" Hagrid called before the door shut behind him.

Charlie Brown stared at the door for about five minutes after Hagrid and the others had left until his mother patted him gently on the shoulder and offered to help take his gifts up into his bedroom.

"Weird way to end your birthday though, isn't it" Sally said as she dropped Charlie Brown's hairdrier on his bedside cabinet "You know, a giant breaking down our door and giving you your letter. Speaking of which" Sally turned to her mother with pleading eyes "Can I please go to London tomorrow with my brother"

"Normally I'd say no" Charlotte said with a smirk "But, I suppose. It'll give you an idea of what to expect next year when you go to Hogwarts. That, and you'll only sneak a ride with Hagrid anyway, won't you?" Sally nodded mischievously and her mother laughed.

"I'm glad Hagrid came, I was really starting to worry I'd never get my letter" Charlie Brown commented as he placed his new Joe Shlabotnik card on a cushion in a glass case.

"By the way, how does dad know him?" Sally asked, Charlie Brown remembered that he had been pondering that exact same question.

"Your father may not have had a lot to do with the wizarding world, but he visited your parents often and met plenty of their friends. And how could anyone forget a man the size of an elephant?" Charlotte giggled at her own joke, but realising it wasn't really funny she added "I never met him myself though, when he was coming through the door I thought a bear had escaped from the zoo. What do you think of him?"

"He seems pretty nice" Charlie Brown mused.

After spending ten minutes putting away Charlie Brown's presents, Sally retired to her own bedroom while Charlotte Brown recommended Charlie get his rest aswell.

"Good night dear, sweet dreams" Mrs Brown tucked her son in and gave him a tender kiss on the forehead before quietly leaving the room and turning off the lights.

"Good night mom" Charlie Brown said through a yawn.

This had certainly been an eventful day. His birthday celebrations aside, Charlie Brown could not sleep until well into the night because every time he closed his eyes, he kept thinking about the coming morning. Before he knew it, Charlie Brown and friends would be halfway around the world buying wands and spell books, and at the very start of September he would be attending Hogwarts for the first time.

His prior worries about leaving his family returned in full swing, as did his concerns over Snoopy and Woodstock. Would he be able to cope without the support of his parents, how would he feel to not wake up every morning to a greeting from his little sister. And then what would he do if he couldn't take his precious beagle to Hogwarts with him. Charlie Brown had had to leave summer camp a few years ago becase he couldn't stand being away from Snoopy, but he couldn't do the same thing with school.

And what if Hagrid had been wrong, what if they really were too late. Hagrid had been so certain that exceptions could be made for Charlie Brown and friends's late submission to wizarding school, but they were suppose to have replied to their letter's by the end of July and it was almost halfway through August. Sure, perhaps if it were just one person it wouldn't be too big a problem, but there were nine of them hoping to go to Hogwarts. What if they were told it just simply couldn't be done, would they have to wait another year, or would they not be given a chance to go again. Surely they would, but Charlie Brown couldn't help but worry.

And then there were still plenty of other things to worry about. Charlie Brown must have had hundreds of questions about his parents he'd like to have asked Hagrid, and though he would have time tomorrow he found himself disappointed at having asked the giant man so little. Even with everything Richard and Charlotte told Charlie about his real parents, he still hardly knew them; why, he didn't even have a picture of them, since the majority of their photographs had been left behind in Britain.

Charlie Brown sighed and rolled over in his bed. He tried not to think too hard over his insecurities, today had been a wonderful day, he shouldn't be worrying over this now. He should be worrying tomorrow, when it all became a real cause for concern. For now Charlie Brown reminded himself, he'd had a great time today with his friends. And just thinking of his friends and everything they had done for him that day, Charlie Brown found himself drifting off at last into peaceful slumber.

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><p><strong>Tiger lover 16: Ok... ugh. Again, I really didn't like this chapter. Despite my attempts to edit it this whole thing just seems rushed and unpolished. I wasn't quite sure what I was doing with this chapter and I really wish I'd done a better job. I'd considered re-writing the chapter completely in a different way, but I'd written so much of it that I just couldn't bring myself to delete the whole thing. I'm sorry this didn't turn out so well, but I've got a better idea of what I'm going to do with the next chapter, of which I've already written quite a bit. I hope to come back and polish this chapter up a bit more in the future, for now I just hope you all find it enjoyable. I suppose it does serve it's purpose anyway, setting up the trip to Diagon Alley and the gang's first exploration into the magical world. I promise I'll write better in the future, and thank you all for reading and being supportive of this story. I'll be back soon with an update, probably not too soon, but soon. Goodbye for now.<strong>


	4. It's Diagon Alley Charlie Brown

**Tiger** **lover 16: OK, here I am with chapter 4... er, 3 considering the prologue. Ok, this chapter covers the trip to Diagon Alley and the Peanuts gang's first foray into the wizarding world. I'd like to apologise for the delay in this chapter, I've had a bit of trouble with college and my mother collapsed and has been in hospital, and I couldn't log into fanfiction on my dad's computer. My mums alright now, don't worry. This chapter is also the longest thing I've ever written, so of course it was going to take a while. I must say I'm once again somewhat disappointed, while I put a lot of effort into writing this chapter I still don't think it lives up to expectations. A few parts still seemed rushed and I could have done more with a few things. That's mostly because whenever I take so much as a little break I start to develop writers block, and since a lot of this is adapted from the book I had trouble expanding on it. While I absolutely love Harry Potter, Rowling does rush a lot of things and doesn't provide a wide range of detail on certain things. And of course i've got a lot of characters, and I can't write for all of them at once, just whoever needs to do something in that scene. Oh well, it's still a pretty good chapter I suppose, better than some of the other stuff I've written in the past. And while many scenes didn't turn out quite as I wanted, I hope you can still enjoy the chapter. I can't wait to get to Hogwarts.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: It's Diagon Alley, Charlie Brown<strong>

The sun rose steadily into the air on the morning after Charlie Brown's birthday. The birds were chirping, the light of the sun shone vibrantly off the morning dew and all through the neighbourhood, children slept peacefully in their beds, all with content smiles on their faces. Truly it was a beautiful start to the day, and what a day it would be.

Charlie Brown awoke with a yawn, after a brief lie-in he tried to get up out of bed but a splitting pain in his head forced him back down onto the pillow. Maybe he shouldn't have had so many root beers last night, all that sugar and fizz was not good for him under any circumstances, especially right before bed.

Charlie Brown nursed his throbbing head as he lay there, willing the pain to end so that he could concentrate on remembering just what he was supposed to be doing today.

Stifling a moan Charlie Brown flipped over to stare at the clock. 7:30am. It was not like he needed to be up this early, it was still summer vacation and no one but the most eccentric of people in Charlie Brown's age group got up this early for any reason. And yet he'd set his alarm for a few minutes before it.

When Charlie Brown's root beer-induced headache had subsided he spent a minute pondering his early rise. That's when he remembered the events that took place last night. Or at least, he thought he remembered them. It had all seemed pretty bizarre, having a giant, bearded man break down the door and delivering their letters, weilding a pink umbrella to light fires and talking of flying motercycles and owls that delivered letters.

Charlie Brown wondered for a moment if it had all been a dream, just some crazy dream he'd come up with, and that his Hogwarts letter still hadn't arrived. But it had all felt so real, and as hard as he tried Charlie Brown could remember nothing else he had done after describing his backstory to his friends. It had to have happened, right? But could it have happened, was this all a trick of Charlie Brown's imagination, had he blanked out whatever uneventful occurances had taken place after his father announced it was time to take the rest of the gang home. Maybe his mind just wanted so badly to believe Hagrid was real and that he had finally gotten his letter it was blocking out the real truth.

Was it really so hard to believe that a giant man like Hagrid could exist though. Charlie Brown knew he was a wizard, and that magic did exist. So it seemed feesable that giants could exist too, and that they flew around on giant motorcycles... yeah, that did sound crazy. But still, it couldn't be any crazier than a five hundred foot jump by Charlie Brown, or Snoopy's dog house becoming a plane.

'Well, I suppose there's only one way to find out' Charlie Brown thought feebly. The round headed boy forced himself up out of bed and scoured his room for any sign of the Hogwarts letter. He emptied his cupboard, searched every shelf and turned his bed over to find the letter, uncovering all his birthday presents as he did so, but no sign of a letter. Feeling disappointed at his inability to find the letter he had supposedly got from Hogwarts Charlie Brown plopped down miserably on his bed. After he'd set it upright once more.

Now might be a good time to wallow in one's own misery, thought Charlie Brown. Perhaps, no, he was certain that he really had imagined everything. There was no giant man named Hagrid, he had not received his letter from Hogwarts and, now that he remembered it, he wouldn't be going to London later today to pick up his books and other school supplies.

Sigh, now that was a magor disappointment. If he had remembered sooner that he was meant to be going to England with Hagrid and his friends he would have been looking forward to it. In retrospect it might have been luckier he hadn't, because then Charlie Brown would only feel worse about not being able to go. And he'd even gotten up early to...

Wait. He'd gotten up early. He'd set his clock for sometime between seven and seven thirty in the morning, when normally he was up an hour or more later. There had to be a reason for that, and before Hagrid had left in what might have been his dream the giant had said to get up early. Could that mean... yes, maybe. Or Charlie Brown could have done it by accident, or for some other purpose he could not recall with his mind in a fuzz.

_Was it real, or was last night just a dream?_

Charlie Brown lay pondering that question for what must have been a good half an hour. Even if Hagrid and the Hogwarts letter had not been real, there was proof that most of last night was. His birthday party had definitely took place, he had all the presents his friends had given him. In fact, now he could remember placing his Joe Shlabotnik baseball card into it's glass cage, and his mother and sister helping to pack all his things away. If that had happened, could Sally's request to go to London have taken place. If yes, then Hagrid's visit had definitely happened. But that still could have been a part of Charlie Brown's imagination.

Charlie Brown was finally brought back to reality by the explosive sound of trumpets, which caused him to leap out of his bed and land painfully on the floor. At first Charlie Brown assumed the noise was caused by Snoopy and his scout troop again, but when he looked up he found the trumpet player to be none other than Sally.

"Wake up big brother! There's no time to sleep in today, we're going to London!" Sally announced with much enthusiasm before skipping merrily out the door.

"What just happened?" Asked a confused Charlie Brown. When his mind had regained focus and he had had time to register Sally's outburst Charlie Brown shot to his feet and ran after his sister.

Sally's announcement was all the confirmation Charlie Brown needed. If she knew they were going to be visiting London, then of course Hagrid had really come, he really had received his Hogwarts acceptance letter! And this couldn't possibly be Sally's idea of a joke. If he had gotten up first and asked her if the events last night were real, he still probably wouldn't believe it and would think Sally was trying to lead him on. But no, she had barged into his room to wake him up, to announce how eager she was to tag along with him to London.

And if he needed any more proof, it was the giant hairy mass snoozing on the repaired couch.

"Mom says Hagrid and dad came home at about midnight, everyone else's parents were quite angry they hadn't been told their children were wizards and witches. Mrs Roberts even threw a ming vase at dads head when he called her daughter a witch. And mom says that's nothing compared to the fit they all had when Hagrid said he'd be taking them to London tomorrow. At first they all refused to let their children go on such short notice, but by some miracle dad managed to convince them to let everyone go" Sally filled in her brother.

"That's good" Charlie Brown said, just happy to know he hadn't dreamed the previous night "So where's dad"

"He's in bed, mom says he's got a hangover" Sally said, exchanging grim looks with her brother. Her's softened however and she asked "What's a hangover?"

"I think it's something like a really bad headache, like the one I got from all that rootbeer" Charlie Brown replied thoughtfully.

The Brown siblings stared transfixed at the snoring giant on their sofa, wondering what sort of spell he had cast to repair it and how it was supporting his weight so easily. Charlie Brown also took notice of the thirteen boxes of pizza piled up next to the couch, which Hagrid's mice were swarming over in search of leftovers.

"Slept well dear?" Mrs Brown greeted as she emerged from the kitchen, having already prepared her son a plate of bacon and eggs.

"Well, for me it was a pretty good nights sleep... Dad alright?" Charlie Brown asked, Charlotte rolled her eyes in an almost jovial manner.

"Oh, daddy's doing fine. Just a few bumps and a severed arm, that's all-I'M JOKING, he's just really tired and needs his rest" Charlotte said quickly, Charlie Brown sighed in exhasperation at his mother's strange sense of humor.

With one last glance at Hagrid, Charlie Brown took his usual place at the breakfast table and wolfed down his bacon and egg. He found his Hogwarts letter hidden under the box with the cake Hagrid had left him, and agreed to share a slice of said cake with Sally.

"Where's Snoopy? I was going to offer him some of this" Charlie Brown said, remembering his beagle's disappointment over not being allowed to eat any of the chocolate birthday cake Charlie Brown and friends had shared yesterday.

"He's right behind you, waiting to be fed" Sally replied, she hadn't really looked to check if what she was saying was true, but knew anyway that it was.

Charlie Brown turned to face Snoopy, who he noticed was wearing a rather grumpy expression. When Charlie Brown stared curiously at him, the beagle pointed an accusing finger at the plate Charlie Brown had eaten his breakfast off of.

_"So, why didn't you use the food bowl I got you for your birthday?"_ Snoopy asked, offended. Charlie Brown didn't hear his thoughts, but he got the message anyway.

"Oh, sorry Snoopy, I uh-" Charlie Brown hesitated, he didn't want to tell Snoopy his gift was useless for a human being like himself, but he would also feel embarrased to eat out of a dog's food bowl. After coming up with several pitiful excuses, Charlie Brown chose the least pathetic of them and said "I'm saving that for a special occasion, it's a really special dish after all"

To Charlie Brown's immense relief Snoopy seemed to take this as a reasonable answer and Charlie Brown handed him a slice of strawberry cake. Snoopy smiled as he bit into his cake, he requested two more slices for Woodstock and Spike and skipped merrily out the door.

"Well, come on big brother, get dressed so we can get going" Sally demanded.

"It's only eight Sally, you've got two and a half hours left before you leave for London" Charlotte reminded her over enthusiastic daughter.

"How are we all going to get to England again?" Charlie Brown asked. He was sure Hagrid had mentioned something called a portkey, which he claimed would take them to London and which he had expressed remorse over not using to travel to America. His mother's reply however was to basically repeat this information and say he would have to ask Hagrid what a portkey was, because she hadn't the slightest clue.

Though they both would have liked to know more about portkeys and had plenty of questions about magic and their parents, neither Charlie nor Sally had the nerve to wake Hagrid and settled for scurrying away into their rooms to change clothes.

When the now fully dressed Charlie Brown and Sally returned to the living room they found Hagrid wide awake and gulping down tea from his bucket sized mug.

"Lovely cuppa, Mrs Brown" Hagrid said pleasantly, but through his wide grin it was still clear he disliked the taste of it. When he had drained his mug, Hagrid spotted Charlie Brown and Sally and flashed them a warm smile "Good mornin'"

"Good morning" The Brown siblings repeated. Hagrid stowed away his mug and the mice swarming his pizza boxes and stood up, hunching over slightly due to the small size of the room.

"So, I reckon yer both eager ter get going" It wasn't a question, more of a statement.

"I suppose. What do we need to bring?" Charlie Brown asked. He'd already packed his wallet (Though it was empty) And a few cookies for Snoopy in the very likely event that he hopped along for the trip, but he had only a vague idea of wizard society and what he would need if he were to enter into a wizard settlement.

"Well, I sugges' yeh bring the clothes on yer backs and perhaps some allergy medication if yeh take tha' stuff. Yeh won' need much money, I was jus' telling yur mum here how yer parents left yeh both plenty of gold ter pay you through Hogwarts" Hagrid explained.

"Gold!" Sally squealed. Solid gold, was that what wizards used to pay for things? Charlie Brown could imagine wizards may have some means to create gold through magic, but there surely wasn't enough gold naturally in the world to serve as currency. Was there? Perhaps there were wizard mines that non-magic people didn't know about. Charlie Brown turned to face his sister, and muttered a good grief at the greedy look in her eyes.

"Yep, yeh both got plenty of galleons in the bank. In case yer wondering, a galleon's about five pounds... I think" Hagrid said, a finger pressed to his chin in thought.

"Pound?" Sally asked, confused.

"It's British money dear, about two dollars" Charlotte explained. Sally looked even more delighted at the prospect of a pile of gold coins worth ten dollars each.

While Charlie and Sally imagined a room filled with huge piles of gold, possibly with a leprechaun dancing like Snoopy in the background, Hagrid pulled out a sink-sized bowl, a jumbo box of cereal and a milk bottle and poured himself some breakfast.

Hagrid wasn't halfway through his bowl when an owl flew through the window and landed on his head.

"Hmm, I was wonderin' when I'd be seein' you" Hagrid said pleasantly to the owl, which Charlie Brown noticed was carrying a newspaper in it's beak and had a leather pouch attached to it's leg.

Hagrid rummaged through his cloak again and, after apologising for accidentally spilling his cereal over mrs Brown's head, he pulled out a pouch and extracted five bronze coins.

"Le's see, that'll be five knuts, rite?" Hagrid questioned the bird, which dropped the newspaper in Hagrid's hand and held out the leg with the pouch attached.

"Nuts? Those aren't nuts" Sally said oddly.

"No, their knuts. About twenty nine of these're worth a silver sickle, and seventeen of them are worth a galleon. Simple enough, but yeh might wan' ta remember that" Hagrid explained, dropping the five bronze knuts into the owl's pouch. The owl however screeched at Hagrid expectantly, the giant grumbled "Oh alright, 'ere" And grabbed a mouse trying to scurry out of his coat. He held the squeaking rodent out for the owl, which snatched it by the tail and flew back out the window. "They always want a tip"

Charlie Brown stared after the should-be nocturnal bird, wishing it had stuck around longer. It was not every day you saw a bird that was trained to be a paper boy. Sally didn't mind much, she was too busy fantacising of what she would be doing with all her money.

Hagrid flopped back down on the couch to read the newspaper the owl had delivered (Charlie Brown was sure he heard a groan from the couch as Hagrid did so). Charlie Brown got a good look at the cover of the paper as Hagrid opened up to the first page. "The Daily Prophet" Was written at the very top of the paper, with the headline "Trolls. Big dummies, or big money?" Written underneath.

"Pfft, I'd like ter see em try" Hagrid laughed at what was written about the trolls. He flipped the page and, after a quick scan muttered "Uh-huh, Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual"

"Ministry? There's a ministry of magic?" Charlie Brown asked.

"'Course" Hagrid said, peering at Charlie over the top of the newspaper "No' very efficient though. Woulda bin if Dumbledore 'ad agreed to be Minister like they'd asked, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Nice man, but a bungler if ever there was one. Pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice"

"What's a Ministry, and what do they do?" Sally asked.

"Well, a Ministry's sorta like the government yeh have 'ere, only instead of a Senate yeh have a parliment, and the Prime Minister who makes all the most important decisions" Hagrid said, he turned to the next page and continued "Our Ministry's a bi' different than the muggle one, their main job is to keep the muggles from finding out there's still witches and wizards up an' down the country. We're best left alone, after all. Back in the olden days muggles use' ter cut wizards heads off if they caught us"

Sally and Charlie Brown gulped and held their throats at that thought, while mrs Brown looked a bit guilty.

Hagrid flipped through the pages of the daily prophet, making loud comments about articles regarding changes in broomstick-legislation or the latest celebrity gossip. After skimming through most of the wizards newspaper Hagrid threw it aside and turned to face Charlie and Sally.

"I'll bet yeh have a lot of questions you'd like ter ask me before anything else 'appens" Hagrid said knowingly.

"Well... yes, we've got a few"

"Well don' be shy, fire away and I'll answer as best I can." Hagrid said in a jolly voice. Charlie Brown and Sally smiled appreciatively and began asking Hagrid every little thing that came to mind.

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><p>While Hagrid spent the next hour and twenty five minutes answering questions about Charlie and Sally's parents and the wizarding world in general, Snoopy and Woodstock had gathered by the bus stop to bid farewell to Spike.<p>

_"Well, it's been fun Snoopy but I really must get going"_ Spike said while hugging his brother.

"Well, it's been great having you here bro. Don't be a stranger now, come back any time" Snoopy offered, giving his skinny brother a last handshake.

"_III IIII" _Woodstock cheeped sincerely.

_"Thank's. I'll write when I get back to Needles, but I can't promise I'll be visiting soon. My wife won't like me being away from home too often" _Spike replied. Snoopy and Woodstock stared blankly at him for a moment before their jaws hit the floor.

_"IIII!"_

_"WIFE?" _Snoopy yelped in shock_ "Since when did you get married?"_

_"Since three weeks ago, we met through a mutual cayote friend and got married in Viva Las Vegas" _Spike sighed romantically_ "Such a wonderful night that was... I think, I can't remember most of it"_

_"So why didn't you tell us, I would have loved to be your best beagle. I let you be best beagle at my wedding" Snoopy pointed out bitterly._

_"It was a small and private affair, we really didn't invite a lot of people" _Spike replied calmly, and then slyly added_ "Besides, I didn't want you running off with my bride like I did with yours"_

At first Snoopy looked mildly offended by that last remark, but he quickly changed his mind and decided it probably was something he would do. _"Congratulations Spike"_ Snoopy said cheerfully, giving Spike a pat on the back.

_"III IIIII II!"_ Woodstock cheered, setting off the last leftover streamer from the party. Spike smiled appreciatively.

_"So what's your wife like? Is she pretty? Does she bake good cookies?"_ Snoopy asked, licking his lips.

_"Oh, the best cookies"_ Spike sighed dreamily _"And yeah, she's a pretty French poodle and she's got the cutest little spot on her left paw"_

_"III II III?"_

_"Oh yes, she's very nice too. I tell you, that woman has a great sense of humour, laughs even at my jokes"_ Spike chuckled_ "And she never stays mad at me when I do something stupid either, usually she just throws a brick at my head and that's the end of it. Isn't that sweet?"_

Snoopy and Woodstock exchanged nervous glances and chuckled half heartedly when Spike looked at them expectantly.

_"Yeah, she sound like a real angel"_ Snoopy said sarcastically, but Spike didn't seem to catch his tone.

For the next five minutes Snoopy and Woodstock bombarded Spike with questions about his new wife, they learned that she was the valivictorian of her Obediance school back in Paris and winner of three top dog shows, and that she had unsuccesfully tried to get rid of his cactus friend.

_"I hated to argue with her, but it simply wouldn't be right to throw away my long time companion"_ Spike said nobly.

The bus to Needles arrived just as Woodstock was asking the name of Spike's wife (Delila).

_"Could either of you loan me five bucks, I'm a little short"_ Spike requested. Snoopy scoured his fur for money but found nothing but lint and candy wrappers, Woodstock however pulled a huge ball of money out of thin air and, after peeling off a few hundreds, extracted a five dollar bill which he handed to Spike.

_"Thanks Woodstock, I'll pay you back, I swear"_ Spike promised before hopping on the bus _"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now. Take care of yourselves, and tell your pal with the round head to have fun at school"_

_"We will. See you bro!"_ Snoopy yelled, waving goodbye as the doors to the bus closed and Spike set off for Needles _"And ask the wife if you can name your first child after me, if it's not too much trouble!"_

Woodstock waved a hankerchief after the desert beagle as the bus drove off into the horizon.

_"You think he heard me?"_ Snoopy asked his avrian friend.

_"IIII IIII I II IIIII III IIIIIIIIIII IIIIII IIII"_

_"Yeah, probably not... oh well, let's go to England"_ Snoopy said, he and Woodstock then happy danced their way into the back garden. They were soon followed by Charlie Brown, Sally, Hagrid and the Brown parents.

"Right, we told the kids to meet up here by around ten and it's 9:55 right now. Shouldn't be too long" Richard said, he looked flushed and was very unsteady in the way he stood.

'At least he has both arms' Thought Charlie Brown.

"So, what were you saying about dad's broom Hagrid?" Sally asked.

"What? Oh right, that. Well, his mum had jus' bought him this new Nimbus one thousand to replace that ol' cleansweep he crashed inter the womping willow-yeh know, tha' tree I was telling yeh about. And what does he do, he goes an' crashes inter the lake. Thank goodness the giant squid pulled 'im out. Don' know how he got onter the quidditch team with tha' luck of his" Hagrid reminised.

"So that's where you get it from big brother" Sally said, referring to Charlie Brown's endless bad luck. Charlie Brown sighed.

"What's quidditch?" This time it was not Sally asking the question, nor was it Charlie brown or either of the parents. It was Lucy, followed by Linus and Schroeder.

"Wizard sport played on broomsticks" Sally answered, pleased with the looks of astonishment on her friends faces.

"Glad to see you made it. Did you see any of the others on their way?" Richard asked, clutching his head as he did so and nearly falling over.

"No, but someone should turn up in about..." Schroeder stopped to check his watch "Five... four... three-"

"Here we are" Called Violet and Patty as they skipped into the back yard.

"Two-one" Schroeder said quickly, glaring at his traitorous watch.

"You girls all set to go then?" Asked Charlotte.

"All set" Violet said confidently.

"Right, jus' remember we're only there ter get school supplies, there'll be no time fer shoe shopping" Hagrid pointed out, to disappointed moans from the girls.

"By the way, what are you doing here Linus? I thought you weren't going to Hogwarts until next year" Patty said, staring oddly at Linus.

"I asked mom last night and she said it's alright if I come too, I wouldn't want to miss out on everyone's first foray into the world of witchcraft and wizardry" Linus replied, and then to Hagrid he said "I hope I'm not being a bother"

"Nonsense, the more the merrier, tha's what I always say" Hagrid said with a typical santa claus laugh, much to everyones amusement.

Within the next five minutes the remaining members of the Peanuts gang arrived on the scene. When everyone had exchanged pleasantries they all turned expectantly to Hagrid.

"So, firs' things firs', yeh all got enough to pay fer everything?" Hagrid asked.

"Well, Mom gave me two hundred dollars, will that be enough?" Freida asked, the other children (Minus Charlie Brown, Sally and Linus) Pulled out a similar sum of money. Hagrid hummed thoughtfully and counted on his fat fingers, mumbling inaudibly.

"It'll probably still stretch a bit... but yeah, should be enough" Hagrid nodded, to sighs of relief from the gang.

"Right" Hagrid said importantly "Now, as we don' want the muggles seeing us all suddenly vanishin' inter thin air, I set up the portkey in the woods jus' outside of town. It's a twenty minute walk from here, so if we leave now we'll be fine"

"You all have a safe trip, stick close to Hagrid so you won't get left behind. I don't want to know what your parents will do to me if that happens" Mr Brown said with a nervous look. His expression softened as he turned to his own children and patted them tenderly on the head "Have fun"

"We will" Sally said with a wide grin.

Mrs Brown gave Charlie and Sally a hug and went to open the gate "Now all of you hurry along, you've got just under half an hour to get to the woods. Charlie, keep an eye on your sister so she doesn't run off-not that I don't trust you sweetie, but I know how excited you can get. And please don't bring home any stray dragons" Charlotte stressed that last statement, the children all giggled at that joke

"God I'd love a dragon" Hagrid said dreamily before setting off with the children "Well, we'll see yeh both later. Hope that hangover of yours clears up Richie"

"Bye mom, bye dad, we'll see you at dinner" Charlie Brown called, waving goodbye to his parents.

"I hope we're having pancakes!" Sally called, the Brown parents chuckled.

"I do hope Hagrid knows what he's doing" Charlotte said anxiously, watching the group disappear into the distance.

"He does dear. I admit Hagrid may be a bit... rash, at times, but he's a good man, always looking out for the best interests of other people. I'm sure he'll get them there and back in one piece" Richard replied confidently. He then groaned painfully while clutching his head "Now let's go back inside, I need to lie down"

"You brought it on yourself dear" Charlotte scolded, helping her still tipsy husband through the front door.

It was a mostly uneventful walk to the forest. Apart from a few awkward moments involving the other local kids questioning the Peanuts on where they were going with a fourteen foot man, for which Linus came up with an extremely complicated explanation that I'm too lazy to write, the trip into the forest was rather quiet.

At 10:25 the group arrived in a forest clearing. Everyone stared around curiously for the portkey, but all that was there was a rather large slipper in the middle of the clearing.

"So where's the portkey?" Asked Pigpen.

"Right 'ere" Hagrid announced, holding up the big slipper. Everyone stared at him strangely.

"That's a slipper" Violet said with a raised eyebrow.

"Well of course, it's 'as ter be somethin' muggles won' bother to pick up if they find it. They make portkeys from all kindsa things, soup cans, old boots, an' one time professor Snape's wig. Didn' even know he had one 'til Louis pulled it off his head ter clean 'is plate with it" Hagrid said the last part to himself more than he did the children, who all had a good giggle at his statement.

"So how does an old slipper take us all the way to London?" Peppemint Patty asked.

"Teleportation" Hagrid replied simply, to gasps of interest from his young charges. Hagrid instructed Schroeder to keep an eye on the time with his watch. About half a minute before ten thirty he held the slipper out for the kids and instructed them to grab hold of it.

No-one bother to ask questions, they just quickly formed a circle around the slipper and held onto it. Five seconds to go, Schroeder announced. Charlie Brown kept a firm grip on the slipper, not sure what to expect, but hoping it would all go alright.

Four seconds... three... two... one!

It felt as though a hook behind his navel had been suddenly jerked forward. His feet left the ground and Charlie Brown was blown away by a strong wind and swirling colour. He could not see either of his friends through the speed he was swirling through the air, but he could distinguish each of their screams. He could feel Linus and Peppermint Patty's shoulders banging into him from either side, it was shockingly painful. Charlie Brown wished, he prayed for this all to end. For a wild moment he thought about letting go, but his fingers were locked onto the slipper as it pulled him forward. The wind crashed against Charlie Brown's face, threatening to blow off what little hair he had and the constant swirling made him feel dreadfully sick. On and on they went, until suddenly...

CRASH

Charlie Brown's feet slammed into the ground, but the force of the landing and the dizziness caused by the flight caused him to immediately topple over, and almost immediately there-after he was crushed under every one of his friends. Though thank God for him, Hagrid had landed steadily onto his feet.

"Alrigh' there children?" Hagrid asked pleasantly, everyone groaned feebly in response.

It was five minutes after the hazardous landing before the gang were all able to stand steadily, though there were several mishaps with the kids bumping into each other. Charlie Brown had never felt more dazed in his life, and his stomach felt like it had just flipped over a dozen times. It took all the strength he had left to keep himself from vomiting, and the looks on everyone's faces showed he wasn't the only one.

"Ugh... next time I think I'll just take a cab" Peppermint Patty eventually grumbled.

"I know portkeys aren' all that pleasant to use, but-" Hagrid was cut off by a loud "HA" By Lucy.

"Aren't all that Pleasant? That was the most sickening experience of my young life, and I'm Charlie Brown's psychiatrist" Lucy wined, placeing a hand queasily to her mouth afterwards.

'I know I'm not the most pleasant patient to work with, but I never thought I was sickening' Charlie Brown thought miserably.

"Yeah, well, yeh get used ter it after the firs' few tries" Hagrid said comfortingly, but the thought of reliving the experience with the portkey struck fear into the hearts of the Peanuts gang.

"So..." Pigpen began after everyone had fully regained their sense of awereness "Where are we?"

Charlie Brown took a long look at his surroundings. The portkey had landed him and his friends in what looked to be a construction site, along with a half-demolished old building, an overflowing dumpster and a vandalised telephone booth. This was London?

"Funny, somehow I thought the most famous city in England would look a little more... clean" Freida commented as she and the others took in the sights.

"It is mostly, have ter find somewhere the muggles won' come by and see us to appear though" Hagrid replied.

While Snoopy and Woodstock took to exploring the semi-demolished building near the rusting phone booth, Hagrid began rummaging through his coat again. Schroeder and Linus ducked as Hagrid tossed aside a bag of slug pellets and a broken sink, and Hagrid finally pulled out the scruffy owl from the previous night.

"Ok, jus' gotta sign it and off we go" Hagrid muttered to himself while writing on a piece of parchment. He put it in an envelope, which he attached to the owls leg. Without a single word from Hagrid the owl spread it's wings and took off with the letter "Hope professor Dumbledore's willin' ter forgive my tardiness. I must be a month late"

"I'm sure you'll be fine, if he's anything like our principal he'll overlook anything" Sally said semi-sarcastically. Hagrid looked relieved at her comment, but for Charlie Brown it only served to remind him of his problems.

"Are you sure we're not too late Hagrid, we are fourteen days overdue and there's at least nine of us that need to sort out a place at Hogwarts. Are you sure we can sort it out" Charlie Brown voiced his greatest concern.

"Well o' course, it's not your faults. Yeh'll be fine" Hagrid said nonchelantly, but Charlie Brown was still not convinced.

"But Hagrid-"

"Charlie Brown, stop over analysing things and just enjoy yourself for once" Lucy said, rolling her eyes. Charlie Brown decided not to further the subject.

"So, where do we go from here sir?" Marcie asked, Hagrid stared around curiously before deciding she must have been referring to him.

"Oh... well, jus' follow my lead, first we gotta go ter the Leaky Cauldron and from there we'll make our way ter Diagon Alley. Tha's where we'll be getting your supplies" Hagrid replied. There was much excited whispering and everyone speculated on what the Leaky Cauldron could be and what wonders they would see in this Diagon Alley.

"Well then what are we waiting for, let's go!" Demanded Sally, the rest of the gang voiced similar statements.

A high pitched scream from above caused the kids to jump a foot in the air, they all stared upwards to see Snoopy and Woodstock leap off the side of the old building and latch themselves onto Charlie Brown. They looked absolutely terrified.

"What's wrong with Snoop, he looks like he's seen a ghost" Peppermint Patty said, raising an eyebrow.

"Hmm... well, it's nearly twen'y to, so..." Hagrid began, staring upwards at the building. Charlie Brown and friends followed suit, and they all screamed and fell backwards as a glowing white figure emerged over the shattered rooftops and hovered down before them.

"Ah, Hagrid, good morning" Said the figure, a translusant, pearly white man wearing an outfit befitting of a bank manager, including a bowler hat which he tipped to Hagrid.

"Mornin' Harrison, how's the mrs?" Hagrid waved pleasantly.

"Going through her depressed moaning stage, really dreary at the moment" The figure said miserably, but quickly cheered up and added optomistically "Oh well, at least it'll only last a week, then we should be fine the rest of the month"

The floating, see through man tipped his hat once more to Hagrid and once at each of the children and passed through the door into the phone booth, sinking into the floor of said booth. Everyone but Hagrid stared in shock at the phone booth, none of them having a clue what they had seen.

"Was that a g-g-ghost?" Patty nervously asked, Hagrid nodded calmly and everyone gulped.

"Yeah, we have ghosts. You'd all better get used to it though, Hogwarts has lots o' ghosts" Hagrid said, and noticing the queasy looks on most of his young charges he added "But don' worry, most of 'em are friendly. Jus' the Bloody Baron yeh gotta watch out fer"

_"Baron!"_ Snoopy yelped, he detached himself from his owner and slapped on his flying ace helmet_ "Where is he! I'll shoot him right out of the sky"_

_"IIII II"_ Woodstock whispered into Snoopy's ear, Snoopy's ears drooped and he pulled off his helmet with a look of embarassment.

_"Oh, Bloody Baron. I thought he meant the Red Baron"_ Snoopy mumbled. Lucky for his sense of pride, no-one noticed his little outburst as the children were all still in shock over seeing their first ghost.

"That fella righ' there, his name's Harrison Miles. Fine chap, knew him well when he was a student. 'Im and his wife died abou' a year ago, but they came back as ghosts. Harrison works at the Ministry o' Magic, representative on the spirit council. Yeh might see 'im at Hogwarts sometime, he comes up every now an' again ter meet with the Hogwarts ghosts" Hagrid explained.

"If he works for the Ministry then why did he just disappear into that phone booth?" Asked Sally.

"Well, how else is he gonna get in? Tha's the main entrance inter the Ministry" Hagrid replied as though it were plain obvious. Of course it wasn't though, Charlie Brown simply couldn't see how a broken phone booth could ever be the entrance into such an important establishment.

"Well, I suppose we really must get going. We gotta meet back here at around four, tha's when the portkey will start up again. This way everyone" Hagrid said, trodding off out of the construction site and waving for the Peanuts gang to follow him, which they did after having another look around for ghosts.

Freida's assumptions about London being clean proved fairly accurate, while the construction site had been a complete dump and there was a bit of graffiti painted across several buildings immediately following it, the rest of the city was rather quaint and pleasant. It was a bit chaotic though when they'd reached the inner city where all the crowds were and the cars lined up for miles on the roads.

Charlie Brown noticed that his group was attracting many curious looks from bystanders duing their little trek, of course they were a large group and Hagrid as tall as a garage. It didn't help that Hagrid kept pointing at perfectly normal things, like stop signs and parking meters and saying loudly "See that, kids? Things these muggles dream up, eh?" Violet and Patty sunk back behind the others, looking humiliated to have people assosiate them with anyone as bizzare as Hagrid was making himself out to be.

They passed a wide variety of shops on the way, most of the girls moaned about how they could not go clothes shopping and Snoopy and Woodstock caused a minor controversity at a butchery, which ended when Hagrid threatened to punch the axe weilding butchers lights out. But though they passed many book shops and stores that bore signs reading "Back to school sale" None of them looked like they could sell Charlie Brown a wand or a spell book. Just where was this Diagon Alley?

"Here we are, the Leaky Cauldron" Hagrid declared when the group had reached an old pub. The children were unimpressed.

"This is it?" Sally asked uncertainly.

"It seems a bit obvious for a wizard dwelling, doesn't it?" Marcie questioned Hagrid "Aren't muggles going to notice it?"

"Oh, I doubt it" Hagrid replied confidently. And indeed, none of the people passing by seemed to pay even the slightest bit of attention to the Leaky Cauldron, they just looked at the big book shop on one side and then immediately turned to gaze at the record shop on the other side as though they couldn't even see the pub. Perhaps they really couldn't.

After everyone had had a good stare at the front of the pub, Hagrid lead the children through the doors of the Leaky Cauldron. It was a small pub, but packed with people in various coloured robes and pointy hats. There was much excited, slightly slurred chatter among the crowds.

"Hagrid!" Everyone called, waving in a friendly manner as Hagrid stepped through the doors.

"Mornin' eyerybody" Hagrid waved, and the chatter continued. Charlie Brown and friends looked between the people in the pub, real witches and real wizards all gathered together drinking odd drinks and dressed in the strangest garments.

"Morning Hagrid, the usual?" Asked the kindly old bar tender.

"Not today Tom, I'm jus' here ter take the kids shopping ready for Hogwarts" Hagrid replied, gesturing to his party. Tom stared curiously at the gang.

"Bit late to be shopping for Hogwarts, isn't it?" Tom asked curiously.

"There were a few problems" Hagrid muttered awkwardly, to giggles from most of the children. Except Charlie Brown and Linus, who had just noticed the stunning lack of beagles and little yellow birds.

"Charlie Brown, what happened to Snoopy?" Linus asked cautiously, the kids looked between themselves and saw no sign of the pets, to which Charlie Brown muttered his usual "Good grief"

Snoopy and Woodstock had hopped onto what appeared to be the only unoccupied table in the Leaky Cauldron and were staring curiously at an abandoned bottle of red and green liquid.

_"What do you suppose this is? English root beer?"_ Snoopy asked.

_"III IIIIIII"_

_"Yeah, suppose there's only one way to find out"_ Snoopy said, uncorking the bottle and pouring it's contents into two wine glassed, one of which he handed to Woodstock _"Bottom's up"_

Snoopy and Woodstock drained their glasses in just one gulp. At first they looked reasonably satisfied, but then they felt a burning sensation in their throats and the next second they were belching fire all over a purple-robed wizard. When the duo were done spitting flames the wizard looked like charcoal with legs, though miraculously still alive.

"Sorry about that" Charlie Brown said meekly as he pulled the mischeivous duo away, earning many glares from onlookers. But oddly, they weren't angry glares, but ones of great curiosity.

"Yeesh, Charlie Brown. Can't you ever keep that stupid beagle under control?" Lucy asked irritably.

The moment Lucy had groaned Charlie Brown's name the chatter in the pub died away, now every eye was locked on the round headed boy. Charlie Brown looked nervously between the staring crowds, he looked to his friends for advice but received nothing more than a few shrugs. Charlie Brown scratched his forehead in confusion, in the process he pushed back the hair covering his lightning bolt scar.

Gasps filled the room, there was a great scraping of chairs and the next second, Hagrid and the Peanuts children were all pushed back ten feet as everyone else in the pub surrounded Charlie Brown and began excitedly taking turns to shake his hand.

"Are you really Charlie Brown? Bless my soul, it is an honour" Said Tom the barman, who was first in line to shake hands with Charlie Brown. For his part, Charlie Brown had no idea what he should think about all the attention everyone was suddenly paying to him.

"Doris Crockford, Mr Brown, I can't believe I'm meeting you at last"

"Welcome back mister Brown, welcome back!"

"Always wanted to shake your hand-I'm all in a flutter"

Hagrid beamed at the sight before him while Charlie's friends all stared with their mouths agape as the crowd swarmed over Charlie Brown, shouting greatings and praise for Charlie Brown's "Return"

"Since when does anyone pay this much attention to Charlie Brown?" Pigpen asked, not believing a thing he was seeing.

"This doesn't make sense. Just look at them, they all think he's great, but he's not. Charlie Brown can't do anything, he's a complete failure face! And they're treating him like royalty" Violet said, looking downright furious at the enthusiastic crowd.

"Give Chuck a break for once, would you Violet. I think it's about time people showed a little respect to him" Said Peppermint Patty. Though secretly, even she thought Charlie Brown didn't deserve as much praise as was being poured upon him right now.

Sally stared irritably at her brother, or more specifically his new fans.

"Well what about me, I'm Sally Brown! Why's nobody shaking my hand?" Sally demanded, to much eye rolling from her friends. She did however gain the attention of a pale faced, green-robed wizard.

"Hey everyone, it's his sister Sally-she lived too!" Announced the wizard, and everyone who had already shaken Charlie Brown's hand gathered to do the same with Sally. She looked pleased with herself.

A nervous looking man with a pale face approached Charlie Brown cautiously through the crowd, he was twitching worse than a chihuahua in a freezer.

"C-Charlie B-B-Brown" The man stammered, grasping Charlie Brown's hand and shaking it a bit too quickly "C-can't tell you how p-pleased I am to m-m-meet you"

"Professor Quirrel, good ter see you!" Hagrid called "Charlie, Sally, everyone, this is professor Quirinus Quirrel, he'll be one of your teachers at Hogwarts?"

"Oh, well then it's nice to meet you professor" Charlie Brown said politely, professor Quirrel smiled weakly.

"What do you teach us?" Peppermint Patty called from behind the sea of wizards and witches.

"D-defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts" Quirrel muttered, the quiver in his voice said he'd rather not talk about it. The kids exchanged eager looks, that sounded like a good subject.

"N-not that you n-need it, eh, B-Br-Brown?" Quirrel laughed nervously "You and your f-friends over th-there will be getting all your e-equipment, I imagine? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself" He looked terrified at the very thought of what he'd said.

The rest of the bar wouldn't let Quirrel have Charlie Brown to himself however, and though he was growing uneasy with all the attention Charlie Brown couldn't get away from them and spent who-knows how long shaking hands with the pubgoers, Doris Crockford kept coming back for more. He didn't get a break until a blond bespeccled witch with a heavy-jawed face made her way through the crowd and pulled out a roll of parchment and an acid green quill from her crocodile skin handbag.

"Rita Skeeter of the daily prophet Charlie Brown, pleasure to finally meet you" The blond witch introduced herself as the quill suddenly began writing by itself "Would you have time to answer a few questions for-"

"OI, I know you!" Hagrid suddenly growled, pushing away the other wizards and witches and standing menacingly over Rita Skeeter "You're that old hag that wrote tha' scandal about old Lily Potter las' year, aren't yeh?"

"So what if I am?" Rita Skeeter asked curtly.

"GET OUTTA HERE" Hagrid bellowed, and when Rita simply turned her attention back to Charlie Brown Hagrid grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and threw her out the door, the parchment and quill followed after her.

"Lousy bloodsuckers" Hagrid grumbled, his outrage left most of the Peanuts too shocked to move while the rest of the pub just stared at him curiously before somehow shrugging it off and continued shaking hands with Charlie Brown.

"What was that about?" Charlie Brown asked, shaking Doris Crockford's hand for the eighth time.

"Oh, tha' woman was no good. She's a lyin' snoop who takes any little thing and turns it into a false story that always gives a bad impression of people. She's always slanderin' the Ministry an' portrayin' anybody who's famous in a bad way, makes perfectly decent folk out ter be complete bas... er, jerks. Yeh wouldn't believe the lies she wrote about Lily Potter-but don't go askin' about it, it's not very appropriate fer someone yer age ter know such things" Hagrid added, his obscured face red with both rage and embarrasment.

"Righ'!" Hagrid suddenly called, picking Charlie Brown up and placeing him down next to his friends, away from the crowd "Sorry 'bout this, but we really must be going. Lots ter buy. And I mean lots" Hagrid said, glancing at his many young charges.

There was a disappointed murmur as Hagrid led the children out through the backdoor of the Leaky cauldron, Doris Crockford shook Charlie Brown's hand one last time and also shook Sally's before they left to follow Hagrid out the back into a walled courtyard.

"When you said you'd be famous among your own people Charlie Brown, I didn't think you'd be that much so" Patty was the first to say.

"Neither did I" Charlie Brown replied. It was the truth, although his father had made a point of emphasising Charlie Brown's heroic status within the wizarding world, he was still so very used to never receiving praise from people that it was a shock to actually be admired and hailed by such an adoring public. He just couldn't get his head around it, his whole life Charlie Brown had grown up being a failure at everything and having people despise or at the very least disrespect him, even his closest friends got mad at him regularly. Never once had Charlie Brown received this kind of positive attention, and honestly, he didn't feel he had earned it. What had he really done to become so famous, sure everyone said he was responsible for Lord Voldemort's downfall, but he couldn't remember that. And where was the proof behind that statement anyway, what if it was all a fluke, then he certainly didn't deserve to be congratulated.

'Most people would probably love to be in my shoes' Charlie Brown thought, he supposed it really did feel good to have so many people like him. But if Charlie Brown was to receive so much praise, he wanted it to be for something he knew he'd done and something he was proud of doing. Being famous this way just made him feel... like a bucket of cold water had just been dropped over his head!

"AUGH!" Charlie Brown screeched as the freezing liquid drenched him from head to toe.

"You really need to stop getting lost in thought Charlie Brown, that's becoming a habit with you" Said Lucy, holding the now empty water bucket.

"Ok, but was the water bucket really necessary?" Charlie Brown asked, shivering.

"No, we just thought it would be funny" Violet replied. She was right, everyone was laughing. Charlie Brown sighed dejectedly.

"So that man in there was professor Quirrel?" Marcie said quickly, wanting to change the subject after noticing Charlie Brown's discomfort.

"Yeah, didn't that guy seem a little too pathetic to teach defensive magic?" Sally asked, her bluntness earned her many exhasperated looks from her friends.

"Well, I wouldn' call him pathetic... he was pretty good when he was studying outta books an' did a fine job as muggle studies teacher" Hagrid said fairly, he looked gloomy as he added "But then he took a year off ter get some first hand experience. Rumor 'as it he ran inter vampires in the black forest and had a nasty run-in with a hag, hasn't bin the same since. He's very nervous, scared of the students, scared of his own subject... and ter be honest I haven't seen him produce a good spell in years, now he's always messing everything up and has no confidence in himself"

"Sounds like someone else we know" Violet commented under her breath. Hagrid wouldn't have heard her anyway, now he was busy counting bricks on one of the walls.

"Ah, here we go" Hagrid said, he pulled out his pink umbrella and tapped a brick near the centre of the wall. Everyone stared with bated breath as the brick sank into the wall, forming a hole. The hole grew bigger, and bigger, and bigger until where once was a brick wall was now an archway even big enough to allow Hagrid through.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley" Hagrid announced.

Gasps and squeaks of joy echoed off the walls of the courtyard, beyond the archway was a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight. Hagrid grinned at the looks of amazement on the childrens faces and led them through.

This alley was full of strange and wonderful things Charlie Brown had never seen before. Nearest to the archway was a shop that selled cauldrons, with a huge stack of gold and platinum ones lying outside, each filled with variously coloured potions. Just past that was a store that sold magical cleaning supplies, with a dustpan and brush floating just outside the door and sweeping the porch clean. Through the window of another store he could see a huge variety of brightly coloured sweets, along with labels that read "Jelly slugs" "Fever fudge" and even "Droobles best glowing gum". And of course, the whole street was packed with more wizards and witches.

"Wow! Just look at this place" Said an excited Peppermint Patty, who was staring transfixed at a store called "Madam Primpernelle's beautifying potions" She hummed thoughtfully "You think I should get some of that stuff Chuck?"

"You don't need it" Charlie Brown said simply, Peppermint Patty stared hopefully at him "It's not on the list, so you don't need to buy it"

"I can't stand you Chuck!" Peppermint Patty growled furiously and turned her back on a confused Charlie Brown.

The rest of the gang wanted nothing more than to run off and explore the many wonders Diagon Alley had to offer, but Hagrid called them all back.

"Firs' things firs', yeh all need ter come with me ter Gringotts, tha's the wizarding bank, so yeh can exchange yer money for galleons. After that, we'll go get all yer stuff and then if we 'ave enough time yer free to look around as much as you like before I have ter take you home" Hagrid explained.

Charlie Brown and friends nodded and followed after Hagrid, all wishing they had eight more eyes so they could take in all the fantastic sights.

"Wow, look! They have it!" Charlie Brown heared a little boy yell from the window of a shop called Quality Quiditch supplies. Several other small boys had also gathered around the window, and Charlie Brown caught a glimpse of a really nice broomstick on display "It's the new Nimbus Two Thousand-fastest model ever!"

"Wouldn't it be cool to fly around on one of those Marcie?" Peppermint Patty asked, referring to the broomstick.

"I'd rather not sir, I have Acrophobia" Marcie responded, shivering at the sight of the broomsticks.

"Acro-wha?" Peppermint Patty was confused.

"Phobia" Marcie finished for Patty, who was still confused.

"So you're afraid of broomsticks?" Peppermint Patty asked, giving Marice an odd look.

"No sir, it means fear of heights" Marcie corrected.

"Oh... how do you know what that's called?" Peppermint Patty asked curiously, for an answer Marcie pulled a book out from behind her back and handed it to Patty.

"The big book of phobia's?"

"I memorised every word of that book, I am well aquianted with every fear known to mankind" Explained Marcie.

"You're weird Marcie" Peppermint Patty rolled her eyes.

After a walk that was much too short for any of their likings, Hagrid led the Peanuts to a large, snowy-white building which towered over the smaller shops. Hagrid proclaimed this building to be Gringots bank. But that fact didn't interest the children nearly as much as what was standing past the bronze doors.

"What's that thing!" Sally yelped, pointing at the creature by the door, who looked offended. He was a head shorter than most of the gang, his ears and nose were long and pointy like his beard, he had a clever, swarthy face and exceptionally long fingers and feet.

"I am a gringotts goblin, madam" The creature said in a dignified voice, but some anger leaked through. The goblin stood aside and bowed the children through, but they were all too busy staring at him in wonder. Hagrid eventually had to prod them through the doors.

"Word of warning, never get on the bad side of a goblin, 'specially a Gringotts goblin. Clever as they come goblins ain't the most friendly of creatures" Hagrid informed the children in an undertone once he thought the goblin near the door couldn't hear them, but Charlie Brown looked back and saw said goblin stare daggers at the back of Hagrid's head.

The group walked down a short corridor, at the end of which they met another door, on which was engraved the words:

_Enter stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed_

_For those who take, but do not earn_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn_

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours_

_Theif, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure here_

"In other words, yeh'd be mad ter try an' steal from Gringotts" Said Hagrid "Safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe-'cept perhaps Hogwarts"

Charlie Brown soon realised that goblins must run the bank, there were about a hundred of them in the vast marble hall beyond the doors, sitting on high stools behind a long counter, weighing coins on brass scales, scribbling notes and examining precious stones through an eyeglass.

Remembering the reaction of the goblin they'd just met and heeding Hagrid's warning, most of the children tried to keep their faces straight and not make any eye contact with the goblins as Hagrid led them towards the counter.

"Morning" Hagrid greeted the goblin at the very centre "We're here ter exchange some money"

The goblin stared down expectantly at the Peanuts, all but Charlie Brown, Sally and Linus pulled out two hundred dollar bills which Hagrid passed on to the goblin.

"American currency... might have to wait a bit while we sort things out" The goblin said, calling for another goblin to take the hundred dollar bills to the store room and bring back an appropriate number of galleons "Didn't know you were a tour guide, mr Hagrid"

"Nah, most of these kids here are getting ready fer Hogwarts" Hagrid replied, the goblin looked curiously at Charlie Brown and friends but said nothing of it "By the way, Charlie Brown here's gonna have ter make a deposit from his vault"

"Does he have his key?" Asked the goblin. Charlie Brown emptied his pockets and empty wallet, feeling nervous. But Hagrid said "Got it here somewhere"

And Hagrid rummaged through the endless storage space that was his moleskin coat. He pulled out mice, threw aside a broken tricycle that nearly hit Linus, and dumped mouldy dog biscuits over several important looking documents on the goblins desk. He didn't look pleased.

"Ah, here we go" Hagrid said, pulling out a small golden key. The goblin took the key and examined it.

"Griphook, kindly take Mr Brown to his vault!" He called to yet another goblin.

"Oh, but before we go, Dumbledore wanted me ter give yeh this letter" Hagrid added, handing said letter to the goblin at the counter "It's about the you-know-what in vault seven hundred and thirteen"

While the children all wondered what this you-know-what could be, the goblin read carefully through the letter and said "Very well. Griphook, make sure to stop by vault seven hundred and thirteen aswell. As for the rest of you, we'll have all your gold ready once you get back"

Hagrid crammed the dog biscuits and tricycle back into his coat, the mice had long since wandered off, and Griphook led the group to one of the many doors leading off the hall.

"So, what's in vault number seven hundred and thirteen?" Lucy asked curiously.

"Can't tell yeh that. Hogwarts business" Hagrid said mysteriously "More'n me job's worth ter tell yeh, an' Dumbledore trusted me, so don' ask"

But Hagrid's response only left the gang even more curious about this mysterious item.

Griphook held the door open for the gang, who were all surprised to find themselves in a narrow, torch lit passageway, kind of like a mine. The passage sloped steeply downwards and there were little railway tracks on the floor, Griphook whistled loudly and a large mine cart came hurtling towards them. Though it was an exceptionally large cart, it was still a very tight squeeze considering Hagrid's great size and the sheer number of people. Snoopy and Woodstock were forced to tuck themselves into one of Hagrid's many pockets due to the lack of space.

"So... what now?"

Freida's question was answered when the cart suddenly sped off down into a great maze of twisting passages. They were going at breakneck speed and twisting and turning in different directions, leaving Charlie Brown to feel sick again. Griphook seemed to be the only one that wasn't nauceous, in fact he was leaning back calmly as the cart seemed to steer itself.

Deeper and deeper they went into the underground tunnel, Snoopy and Woodstock had to zip up the pocket they were hiding in so they didn't go flying out and Freida's hair was uncurlled by the strong breeze caused by the insane speed of the cart.

"I've always wondered?" Schroeder asked weakly as they sped past an underground lake where long stalactites and stalagmites grew out of the ceiling and floor "What is the difference between stalactites and stalagmites anyway?"

"Stalagmites got an "M" in it!" Hagrid called, readying a barf bag.

"Actually, they're both classed as speleophems, it's just that stalactites form from the ceiling and stalagmites grow from the ground" Marcie clarified, but no one heard her because of how queasy they felt.

When the cart finally stopped the Peanuts all gave a lerch forward, if they hadn't all buckled themselves down when they got in they would have gone flying. Hagrid had to lean against the wall to remain on his feet, while Charlie Brown didn't make it there and fell on his face. Freida was distraught over the state of her hair and tried to re-curl it, Pigpen leaned against the side of the cart for a while incase he really did throw up and Snoopy and Woodstock leaped out of Hagrid's pocket and spun around dizzily. The only one who didn't look downright distraught was Griphook, who Charlie Brown supposed was well used to the speed of the cart.

"Next time, could we go at a sane speed? Please" Linus almost begged.

"One speed only" Griphook replied simply, earning fourteen loud groans.

"Remind me to just keep all my money under my pillow when I'm older" Sally moaned to her brother, who was still a bit too dizzy to comprehend her.

Considering their previous experience with the portkey, it didn't take long for the kids to regain their composure and Freida's hair had soon regained it's curly form. Griphook gave the group a sweeping look and went to unlock a nearby door, which he declared "Vault number three hundred and seventy nine"

Everyone stared curiously as Griphook pulled out the gold key and opened up the vault, their view was briefly obscured by a cloud of green smoke, when it cleared everyone gasped.

Hagrid was right, there was plenty of gold in this vault. Mountains of it! There were pillars and mounds and even a model of a castle made of gold coins, as well as a few silvers with very little bronze coins. Why, altogether there must have been at least a million of these valuable coins filling the vault. Charlie Brown simply couldn't take in how much money there was here, and it was all his! This was Charlie Brown's money, a whole million gold coins for him... oh, and perhaps-

"Do my brother and I have separate vaults, or do we share the same one?" Sally asked, not taking her dinner-plate sized eyes off the glittering gold "I'm Sally Brown, by the way"

"I think your parents only arranged one vault before their unfortunate demise. So yes, this gold is split between you and your brother" Replied Griphook, turning to face Sally. But all he saw was the dust cloud she left behind as Sally charged headfirst into the nearest pile of gold.

"I'M RICH!" Sally cheered, lying down and making an angel shape in the gold. Charlie Brown sighed.

"What are the odds she spends it all in one week?" Patty asked with a giggle.

"I give her three days" Lucy laughed heartily while eyeing the castle of galleons with a hungry expression.

Griphook handed Charlie Brown a sack and instructed him to take out whatever he needed. Not having the slightest clue of how much his school supplies would cost or whether he'd need it for anything else during the school term, Charlie Brown simply piled as many galleons into the sack as he could, aided by his freinds. Lucy had tried to sneak a few coins into her pocket but was caught by Linus, who yelled "Haven't you ever heard of moral conscience?" Lucy rolled her eyes at the many glares she received and emptied her pockets.

"That should do fer a couple o' terms" Hagrid announced after Charlie Brown had half filled the sack, though on his friends insistence he ended up packing a dozen or so more. He had a good feeling they wanted him to buy them all gifts.

"Fame, fortune. And to think, this is all happening to Charlie Brown" Freida said in awe.

"I know. I can't wait to see how he messes it all up" Violet said with a sly smirk to Charlie Brown.

"Good grief" Charlie Brown muttered. Secretly he felt she was right, he just knew once everyone in the wizarding world found out what a loser he was they'd treat him the same as he was treated back home, and he had never really been good with money, he was bound to make a lousy decision and lose all this money. But hey, so far so good, right?

"Alright, le's go. Got another vault ter go to" Hagrid called. Snoopy, who had dressed himself as a king and was pretending to knight Woodstock, jumped down from the gold castle with yellow bird in tow and leapt back into Hagrid's pockets. Sally refused to leave her precious fortune behind and had to be dragged back into the cart by Peppermint Patty and Schroeder.

With their thoughts still on the gold in the Brown's vault, the Peanuts gang soon found themselves once more speeding down the many passageways.

"Why-does-it-go-so-fast!" Pigpen cried as the cart sped up and down, left and right, turning at every second while never moving slower than five hundred miles an hour. The air grew cold as they reached what was bound to be the deepest, darkest part of the mine. Charlie Brown ducked as he saw a burst of flames overhead, but he had no time to destinguish the source. Eventually the group reached what they instantly knew to be vault number seven hundred and thirteen.

The peanuts kids nursed their necks, wondering how they managed to not get whiplash from that crazy ride. Hagrid and Griphook exited the cart and headed straight to the door, Hagrid once again leaning against the wall and struggling not to collapse. Charlie Brown and friends eventually shook off their dizziness and followed.

The door to this vault had no keyhole, instead Griphook just stroked it with his long fingers and it melted away "If anyone but a Gringots goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through and trapped in the vault until someone opens it"

"Do you check it often?" Asked Schroeder.

"Oh, about once every ten years" Griphook replied, and the gang were greatly disturbed by the wicked grin on his face.

Everyone leaned forward eagerly to see what the "You-know-what" in the vault was. With a vault like this they were expecting to find priceless jewels, famous paintings and perhaps a swimming pool filled with coins. But at first glance, it appeared to be empty.

"Are you sure this is the right vault?" Asked a confused Violet.

"Oh, I'm sure" Replied Hagrid, who bent into the vault and pulled out a small, grubby looking brown package that everyone had failed to notice. Hagrid stored the package away into his coat, Charlie Brown decided it was best not to ask what it was, but Lucy didn't share his sentiments.

"What's that thing?" Lucy demanded.

"Can't tell yeh, Hogwarts business" Hagrid repeated himself, and they all knew it would be pointless to keep asking.

"Right, if that's all that needs to be done, everyone back in the cart!" Griphook called. The kids collective groans echoed throughout the whole underground.

One more crazy cart ride later, Hagrid and the Peanuts were back in the marble halls of Gringotts.

"Ahh, semi-fresh air" Linus sighed, breathing deeply.

"Thank you for everything" Charlie Brown said to Griphook. The goblin looked a bit surprised to be receiving thanks, but nodded curtly to Charlie Brown before skulking off somewhere. He came running back a moment later to return Charlie Brown's key before hurrying off again.

"Right, let's go get the rest of yeh sorted" Hagrid said, leading the kids to the goblin they had earlier spoken too.

"Enjoy the ride?" The goblin asked pleasantly, most of the group gagged "Here you are, twenty galleons each"

The goblin pulled out eight small sacks from under his desk and handed them out to all but Charlie Brown, Sally and Linus. Lucy took a moment to admire the sound of her gold rattling in the bag, while Violet took one galleon out and admired the way it shined. Charlie Brown stared at his own fat sack with a guilty face, why had he packed so many galleons again? What would he need to buy at Hogwarts... oh right, souvenirs for Sally. She'd nag him to death if he didn't buy her stuff while he was away.

When everyone had had a chance to admire their intake of gold coins (Sally folded her arms bitterly and Linus looked a tad dissapointed at having nothing to spend) they left Gringotts, ignoring the glaring goblin at the door, and set off back into Diagon Alley.

"So where to first?" Peppermint Patty asked what was on everyone mind. Now that they had wizard money the kids were all eager to spend it, and there were so many things they could buy in a place like this.

"Well, I suppose yeh can all get yer robes first" Hagrid said, gesturing to a store called Madam Malkins robes for all Occasions "Listen, d'yeh all mind if I go fer a pick-me-up at the Leaky Cauldron? I can't stand them Gringotts carts" Hagrid grumbled the last part, he did still look pretty sick.

"Sure thing, we can handle ourselves out here. You just go ahead and relax, enjoy yourself, we'll be fine" Lucy said pleasantly and gave Hagrid's boot a small shove. It did nothing to move the humongous man, but her words did get him going.

"Thank you. Jus' don't buy anythin' that's not on the list" Hagrid advised as he wandered off down the alley. Charlie Brown stared after him before he was swept off his feet by his speeding friends. After recovering from the shock he followed them all into the store.

The group were quickly greeted by Madam Malkin, a squat witch with a kind face dressed in mauve robes.

"Hogwarts, dears" She asked cheerfully.

"Everyone except Linus and Sally" Freida clarified, gesturing to the youngest Peanuts.

Madam Malkin nodded and gestured to a set of footstools "One of you please stand on the free stool to be measured, the rest of you I'm afraid will have to wait here" She pointed to a small waiting area in the corner.

When his friends began squabbling over who would be first to earn their wizarding garments Charlie Brown hastily stepped forward and hopped up onto the stool. His friends all sat in the waiting area, sending grumpy glares at him. At least they're not mad at each other, Charlie Brown thought.

While Madam Malkin slipped a long robe over his head and began pinning it to the right size, Charlie Brown glanced over at the boy on the stool next to him. He had sleek blond hair, the shine it produced indicated he had used way too much hair gel. He had a pale, pointed face, filled with boredom. An interesting trait about this boy was that he also wore an earring in the shape of a snake. Charlie Brown wondered how he had managed to talk his parents into allowing him to have his ear pierced.

Noticing Charlie Brown was looking at him, and probably to end his own boredom, the boy said "Oh, hullo. Off to Hogwarts too?"

"Yes, me and my friends" Charlie Brown nodded, the blond boy glanced over to the rest of the gang chattering away in the corner.

"Wow, aren't you the popular one" The boy said, Charlie Brown thought he should correct him, but also thought it might be nice to have someone think he wasn't just a wishy-washy loser for a change "My father's next door buying mine and my brother's books, and mam's off looking at wands. Once they're done I'm going to bully them to buy me a new racing broom"

"I thought broomsticks weren't allowed at Hogwarts" Charlie Brown said, the boy scoffed.

"Stupid rule, I don't see what's wrong with first years bringing them. I know a few people who can help me smuggle one in" The boy said pompously. Charlie Brown grimaced, deciding this wasn't the sort of boy he wanted to make friends with "have you got a broom?"

"No"

"Do you play quidditch at all?" The boy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Charlie Brown shook his head, feeling rather uninteresting.

"Well, I do. I'm the best seeker in my age group, it would be a crime against humanity if I'm not picked to play for my house, wouldn't you agree?" The blond asked, Charlie Brown stammered uncertainly, but the boy ignored him and threw him another question "What house do you think you'll be in?"

"House?" Charlie Brown hadn't a clue what he meant.

"Don't know, eh? That's understandable, no-one knows until they get to Hogwarts what house they're placed in. Of course I'll be in Slytherin though, my whole family have been Slytherin's. I MUST BE IN SLYTHERIN, TO UPHOLD THE FAMILY HONOUR!" The boy announced to the skies, earning annoyed looks from Madam Malkin and the woman measuring him. Charlie Brown could hear his friends giggling.

"As long as I'm not in Hufflepuff though I'll be fine, I think I'd die if I were in Hufflepuff, wouldn't you?"

"Well... I don't know about die..." Charlie Brown mumbled, wishing he had a clue what Hufflepuff and Slytherin were.

"Who's that gargantuan idiot?" The boy asked suddenly, pointing out the window at Hagrid, who by the looks of it had accidentally knocked over a cart carrying caged frogs and snakes and setting them free. The chaos only got worse when the fleeing frogs hopped into a cauldron and emerged as giant flaming tapirs.

"That's Hagrid, he's the keeper of keys at Hogwarts" Charlie Brown answered, glad to know something the boy didn't. He watched nervously as Hagrid tried to round up the tapirs and got his beard burned off, the rest of the gang were watching from the window and having a heated debate about whether to go help him.

"Oh, yes, my brother Draco mentioned him..." The boy said thoughtfully "Incidentally, what does a keeper of keys do?"

"I don't know" Charlie Brown sighed "I do know he's also the gameskeeper though"

"Ah yes, he's like a servent, isn't he" The boy said, giving Hagrid's lumbering form a contempuous look.

"Well-"

"I hear he's a real savage who lives in a hut on the school grounds, and that he spends all his time getting drunk and trying pitifully to perform magic, or getting into fights with trolls. I hear he never even passed third year" The boy commented rudely.

"I think he's a very nice person, he went through all the trouble of travelling overseas to bring us here to do our shopping, and he even made me a birthday cake" Charlie Brown said in Hagrid's defense, the boy gave him a cold, quizzical look.

"Why'd that oaf have to bring you all, what about your parents?" He asked.

"Well, none of our parents would know where to go to buy everything. They're all muggles" Charlie Brown replied, the boy's face grew stone cold.

"Your parents are muggles?"

"Well, only my adoptive parents. My birth parents are a witch and wizard, but they're both dead" Charlie Brown said with a sad sigh.

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that" Charlie Brown thought the blond boy didn't have the slightest trace of pity in him "But your friends, they're all muggle born?"

Charlie Brown nodded and the boy sneered over at the rest of the Peanuts gang "I thought they looked unruly"

"Excuse me?" Charlie Brown asked, not at all pleased with that remark about his friends.

"If you ask me, their kind don't belong in our society, and they certainly don't belong in our schools. I know I speak not just for myself, but many true wizards when I say that magical learning should be given only to those born into the old wizarding families, those who really deserve it. Their sort just don't belong here, they're too different. I doubt they even knew they were magic until your enormous friend told them so. No, they shouldn't be here, we shouldn't have to taint the good name of wizard with such riff raff"

If Charlie Brown wasn't so wishy washy he would have very much liked to punch this boy in the nose. Riff raff? If it had been him of who the blond was talking about, Charlie Brown wouldn't have minded, he would find it fitting. But not one of his friends could ever qualify as riff raff, and it really hurt Charlie Brown to hear someone speak this way about every one of them. Of course Schroeder, Pigpen, Lucy, Violet, Peppermint Patty and all the others deserved to learn magic, who really cares if they weren't born to wizarding families.

Charlie Brown wanted to say just that to the boy, he wanted to yell at him to mind his own business, and tell him all about how talented each of his friends was in their own way and that they all would make fine wizards and witches. But somehow, and it shamed him to know it, Charlie Brown just couldn't bring himself to say anything.

"By the way, I'm Malfoy. Neil Malfoy. And what's you're name?" The blond boy asked. Charlie Brown was saved the misfortune of answering when Madam Malkin announced he was all sorted. Charlie Brown hopped down gratefully from his stool and went to pay for his new robes. Neil Malfoy was fitted a moment later and, without so much as looking Charlie Brown in the eye, said "See you at Hogwarts, I suppose" And left the building, holding his nose high as he passed Charlie Brown's friends, who looked confused and some offended.

"Who was that snob, Chuck?" Peppermint Patty asked as Charlie Brown took a seat next to his friends.

"Let's just say he makes Thibault and Joe Agate look like charity workers" Charlie Brown replied, shocking his friends with his uncharacteristically cold tone of voice.

"I don't know, I think he looked kinda cute" Lucy said thoughtfully. From the look on his face, if Schroeder had been drinking something at that moment he would have probably spat it back out.

With Charlie Brown and Malfoy all sorted Violet and Patty stepped forward before anyone else had a chance. Soon Madam Malkin and her assistant had fitted robes for the entire gang, sans Sally and Linus, as well as Snoopy, who she seemed to have mistaken for "An odd looking chap". Though she spoke sweetly to most of the kids, Madam Malkin had thrown a fit after taking a proper look at Pigpen and had insistenly cast a spell on him to make him clean. However, this seemed less effective than when Violet had unintentionally done it before, as Pigpen's dirt magnetism kept returning when Madam Malkin was halfway through fitting him. After going through twelve of what seemed to be her best robes, Madam Malkin simply gave up on trying to clean Pigpen and allowed him to mess up the robes she fitted for him.

When everyone was satisfied with their new school uniforms, Charlie Brown led the group back into Diagon Alley, which was in a right mess after the incident with the fiery tapirs. Thankfully however they appeared to have been transformed back into harmless frogs and the magority of the snakes had been rounded up.

"Again, I'm terribly, honest ter God sorry fer all this, I didn't mean ter cause all this trouble, I'm sorry!" Hagrid was apologising loudly, the wizard pulling the previously upturned cart waved a wand at Hagrid's face and caused his beard to grow back.

"It's fine sir, It's sort of my fault anyway. I was too busy listening to my own bad singing to pay attention to where I was going" The cart-pulling wizard said before departing with the cart, this time paying very close attention to what was in front of him.

"Are you alright Hagrid?" Asked Charlie Brown.

"Wha'... oh, yeah I'm good" Hagrid said, waving nonchelantly "So, yeh all set for robes?"

"Hagrid, what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?" Charlie Brown asked, to several raised eyebrows from his friends.

"School houses, there's four" Hagrid said, to more raised eyebrows.

"School houses? Who would want to live at school?" Sally yelled indignantly.

"Wha'? No, no it's not like that. Don' yeh have houses in yer school?" Hagrid asked bemuzed, his answer came in the form of increasingly confused looks from the Peanuts "Oh... well, basically there are four houses, an' at the start of the year yeh get sorted inter one. There's not much to it, yeh just stay in tha' houses dormitory, an' yeh earn points for yer house by doing good in school. Yeh can join yer houses team fer certain clubs an' teams too"

"What houses are there then?" Asked a very interested Linus.

"Well, there's Griffindor, tha's the best one. It's the house of bravery, I was in griffindor, Dumbledore was too. An' then there's ravenclaw, all the smartest students in that house. Most people say hufflepuff are dull and expendable, but-"

"I bet I'll be in hufflepuff" Charlie Brown sighed sadly, nobody bothered to contradict him.

"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin" Hagrid said darkly "There's ain't a wizard alive who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-who, fer example"

There were gulps all around, everyone looked worried that they might be placed in said house. Charlie Brown couldn't possibly see what Neil Malfoy had found appealing about the house that had produced the dreaded lord Voldemort, he felt he would much rather be a lowly, peaceful hufflepuff.

After checking everyone had purchased their robes Hagrid led the group through Diagon alley to buy their books. Despite the chaos that had transpired mere moments ago, nobody seemed very concerned that a herd of fiery tapirs had just blazed through the streets. Surely, these events could not be common place, even for wizards? After passing by several shops with bizzare names, Hagrid led the group into Florish and Blotts, a large book store.

There were dozens of giant bookstands throughout the store, with no less than a hundred books a shelf. And what a selection, apart from the school books mentioned in Charlie Brown's list there were large leather bound books sporting titles like "Rise and fall of the Dark arts", a set of autobiographies written by a wizard called Gilderoy Lockhart, which all seemed to involve an encounter with a different magical creature like hags and warewolves, and books that detailed a long history of goblin rebellions and Yeti hunting.

"Wow, if our school books were like any of these, I might actually make an effort to learn stuff" Peppermint Patty said, skimming through "The standard book of spells, grade 1"

"Hmm... Wiggenweld potion, awakens a victim of magically induced sleep" Marcie read from a potion book, glancing thoughtfully at Peppermint Patty "That could prove useful. Amortentia, the world's most powerful love potion. Swelling solution, inflates whatever it touches to enormous proportion. Noxious potion... ... oh my!" Marice look downright revolted at whatever she had just read.

"What does Noxious potion do?" Asked Schroeder, Marcie held the book in front of his face for him to read. Schroeder looked ready to throw up "That... is... sick!"

Snoopy meanwhile was flipping through Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and was trying to imitate the various magical creatures illustrated, his best performance perhaps being his impression of a phoenix. Defying all laws of physics Snoopy simply stretched out his arms and flew around the shop three times, earning him a standing ovation from everyone watching.

_"IIII III!"_ Woodstock called Snoopy down, struggling to lift a large paperback above his head. Snoopy relieved him of the book before his wings gave way and glanced curiously at the title.

"The six Kneazely Weazlies and their Pegasus Cart"

Snoopy's eyes bulged and he immediately began reading the book. Ten seconds and three hundred pages later, Snoopy slammed the book closed in outrage.

_"Just as I thought. PLAIGIARISM!" _Snoopy screamed and furiously marched up to the front desk, slamming the book down in front of the shopkeeper_ "How could you sell this! Do you know what this is good sir, this book is a rip-off of the marvelous Bunnie Wunnie books by miss Helen Sweetstory, the greatest author in the world! I demand to know who had the gaul to steal her work and defile her legacy by turning it into a story about magical cats! It's degrading, it's blasphemy, it's outright disrespectful to a marvelous writer who has done nothing wrong in her life and made millions of people happy with her wonderful stories! I DEMAND A RECALL! I DEMAND EVERY ONE OF THESE VILE BOOKS BE BURNED, AND THE THIEVING AUTHOR TO BE REPRIMENDED FOR HIS CRIMES AGAINST HELEN SWEETSTORY! I DEMAND..."_

The storekeeper stared nervously at the yapping beagle, he had no clue what Snoopy was trying to say and assumed he had gone mad.

"Who's beagle is this, shut him up before he bites me!" The shopkeeper yelled, backing away as Snoopy hopped onto the counter to continue his tirade. Charlie Brown, who had just about finished tracking down the books on his list, muttered "Good Grief" and ran to pull Snoopy down off the counter. It then took the combined efforts of Charlie Brown, Lucy, Pigpen, Sally, Linus, both Patty's and Woodstock to restrain the angry beagle and drag him outside to calm down while Hagrid payed for their school books.

_"It's an outrage I say, they can't get away with this!"_ Snoopy screamed mentally, kicking the side of the store. Though all this managed to do was injure his paw.

"Boy, I've never seen Snoopy so angry before" Said Patty.

"You'd probably be angry too if someone had plaigiarised your favourite novel" Pigpen said knowingly. Snoopy muttered incoherritable gibberish and paced back and forth, seeing as how Woodstock pulled out his typewriter and began writing a letter Charlie Brown knew he was already planning his protest of the offending novel.

Hagrid and the remaining Peanuts exited Flourish and Blotts just as Woodstock finished typing Snoopy's angry letter, which he tucked away into his fur for safe keeping. Hagrid stored all their books away into the vast depths of his coat, exept for one copy of "Fantastic Beasts and where to find them" Which he handed to Snoopy. Snoopy's fury vanished quickly, and next thing you knew he was marching around bashing things with a wooden club, imitating a troll.

The group's next destination was the apothecary's to buy potion ingredients. Most of the kids had to hold their shirts up over their noses, the smell was terrible! There was no way to properly describe the smell, bad eggs and rotten cabbage mixed together in a bowl of sour milk perhaps being the closest thing to a description. The walls were line with jars of slimey things, rare herbs, dried roots and a bunch of other strange objects that Charlie Brown hadn't a clue about.

After buying all the necessary ingredients, and cleaning up all the slime from the barrels Charlie Brown had accidentally knocked over, Hagrid took the Peanuts to buy cauldrons. Lucy had tried to sweet talk Charlie Brown into buying her a solid gold cauldron, but Hagrid would have none of it.

"It says Pewter on yer list" The giant insisted, Lucy sighed grumpily.

The kids all bought a pewter cauldron and a set of scales each before heading to the astronomy shop, where they bought collapsible telescopes.

"Ok, tha's everything except yer wands. Oh, an I still haven't got yeh a birthday present Charlie" Said Hagrid, Charlie Brown's face reddened.

"You-you don't have to" Charlie Brown said, to which Lucy elbowed him in the gut.

"Are you stupid, he's offering to buy you a present, don't refuse" Lucy whispered irritably.

"Now le's see... I can' buy yeh a pet, yeh already got a dog" Hagrid said thoughtfully, reminding Charlie Brown of his "Only one pet allowed" Problem "And yer not allowed ter bring a broom. What would yeh like?"

"Well, I... I don't know" Charlie Brown mumbled, Hagrid tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, I suppose we'll worry about that later. Righ' now, who wants a wand?" Hagrid asked, to an uproar of cheers from the other kids. A magic wand, this was what they had most been looking forward to. The instrument that would allow them to cast proper spells, and not just random bursts of magic whenever their lives were threatened or they were angry. Oh, the things they would be able to do with these wands... when they were at school, magic at home was a no-no.

The Peanuts gang could barely contain their excitement as Hagrid led them to a shop titled Ollivanders: Makers of fine wands since 382 BC"

Hagrid held the door open and they all squeezed through at once. Sally and Linus walked in last looking depressed, they would be deprived of this oh so wonderful privalage for another whole year.

The wand shop was rather small, with only a spindly armchair in the corner and a few thousand boxes piled up neatly on a set of shelves that reached the ceiling. The eeiry silence of the room gave off the impression of a very strict library, the only sound that was made for quite some time was Hagrid sitting down in the armchair.

The Peanuts stared around cautiously, afraid to upset the creepy silence of the store. For a while they just stood there, taking in the emptiness, until finally Marcie worked up the courage to break the silence and say "Um... hello?"

"Good afternoon" Said a soft voice. The room was suddenly filled with squeaks and yelps and of course some terrified tweeting from Woodstock, and judging by the loud crashing sound Hagrid had jumped in the chair.

Seemingly from out of nowhere an old man was standing before the gang, his wide, pale eyes shined like little moons through the gloom of the shop.

"Oh, hullo mr Ollivander" Hagrid called from the broken armchair, which he was now trying to pull off his posterior.

"Ah, yes hello Hagrid" Mr Ollivander said without so much as glancing in Hagrid's direction, his eyes instead focused on the eleven children before him "I take it you're all here to aquire your wands?"

"Most of us are" Linus sighed sadly, he and Sally stepped glumly backwards into the corner with Hagrid. Mr Ollivander gave each of the remaining Peanuts a sweeping look before his eyes came to rest on Charlie Brown.

"Ah yes, yes I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Charlie Brown" Mr Ollivander said distantly, Charlie Brown felt uncomfortable at being singled out, and just a little creeped out when mr Ollivander stared deeply into his sky blue eyes "You have your mothers eyes. Yes, it seems like only yesterday when she was here, buying her first wand. One of my all-time favourites. Eleven and a half inches, supple, made of maple. Good for all kinds of spells"

Mr Ollivander inched ever closer to Charlie Brown's face. Charlie Brown wished he wouldn't, it felt really disturbing.

"Your father on the other hand favoured an elm wand, nine and three quarter inches, flexible, a bit hard to control but excellent for defensive spells. Well, I say he favoured it-it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course"

Charlie Brown stepped back a bit but mr Ollivander leaned ever closer so that they were almost nose to nose. Charlie Brown wished he would blink, those eyes were unnerving. The other Peanuts stared awkwardly at the two of them, not sure if they should say something to break the old wizard out of his apparent trance.

At last Mr Ollivander's eyes diverted from Charlie Brown's, drifting up his forehead. He brought one of his long white fingers to Charlie Brown's head and stroked away his almost transparent hair, revealing his scar.

"Ah yes. I regret to inform you that I made and then sold the wand that gave you that scar. Oh yes, I remember-"

"YOU!" Mr Ollivander leapt back in fright at that sudden outburst, as did Charlie Brown, who fell on his back. Mr Ollivander stared about anxiously for the source of the scream, whom was now storming up to him.

"You sold a wand to the man who killed our parents! You gave him the tool he needed to murder them! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT, YOU STUPID BLOCKHEAD!" Sally screamed furiously, Mr Ollivander met her vicious gaze and stumbled back in fright.

"Well I-I-I didn't, of course I d-didn't-If I had-I didn't kn-know-I-" Mr Ollivander spluttered, backing up into the wall as Sally stomped towards him with her fists clenched.

"If it wasn't for you, our parents would still be alive! What were you thinking, selling a wand to a murderous tyrant! Why I oughta-!" But whatever Sally oughta do was never revealed, as Peppermint Patty and Lucy had rushed forward at that moment to restrain her. Sally struggled to get free and attack the wandmaker, but Patty and Lucy dragged her back.

"Calm down Sal, it was probably before the guy turned into a bloodthirsty murderer, I'm sure it wasn't personal" Peppermint Patty said as reasonably as she could while trying not to be hit by Sally's swinging fist.

"You'll have to forgive her, she doesn't like to talk about it but she's very sensitive about the subject of our parents death, and of course about Voldemort" Charlie Brown explained to the frightened old man. Mr Ollivander jumped at the sound of the name and did not step away from the wall until Sally had worn herself out and was dropped on the floor next to Hagrid, who held her by the back of her shirt just in case.

"Erm, right" Mr Ollivander breathed heavily, turning his attentions to the group of children standing before him "Would one of you please step forward to receive your wand"

If not for the tense mood brought about by Sally's angry rant the kids would have been rushing forward to get their wands, but instead they settled for playing a game of rock paper scissors to decide who went first. Lucy won through foul play and skipped forward to the old wandmaker.

"And what would your name be madam?" Mr Ollivander asked curtly.

"Lucy Van Pelt"

"Which is your wand arm?" Mr Ollivander asked, Lucy frowned uncertainly.

"Well-I'm right handed" Lucy said.

"That'll do. Hold out your arm" Mr Ollivander instructed, Lucy complied and the old man took out a tape measurer and began measuring every inch of her arm. When he was done mr Ollivander tucked the tape measurer back into his pocket and addressed the whole group "Every wand sold at Ollivander's has a powerful magical substance as it's core. We use Dragon heartstring, phoenix tail feathers, unicorn hair and a variety of other substances. And as hard as you might try, you will never find two wands that are the same, just as no two dragons, unicorn's or phoenix's are the same. And take note, you shall never get as good a result with another wizards wand. Yours alone will grant you the full potential of your magical abilities"

With that all said and done mr Ollivander began rummaging through the many boxes on the shelves. He pulled out a box from the top shelf and removed the wand inside it, which he presented to Lucy.

"Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible" Mr Ollivander explained, Lucy gleefully took the wand from his hand and gave it a casual wave. The result was a huge series of fiery explosions that left the room in a desecrated state and most of the Peanuts covered in soot and scorch marks.

While everyone else was coughing up soot Mr Ollivander was blinking rapidly and stroking his now bald head, all his hair had been burned off. Lucy smiled awkwardly at him.

"Though I am inclined to take that wand from you and throw it in the nearest river, I daresay you have an affinity for it, so therefore it would be innapropriate for me to take it from you" Mr Ollivander said, his facial expression never changing from one of utter shock. Lucy however looked delighted and hugged her new spell caster.

"Good Grief, how am I supposed to survive another two weeks with her now" Linus groaned miserably as Lucy skipped into the corner.

Luckily none of the Peanuts were left traumatised by Lucy's frighteningly effective display of magic, rather it just made them even more eager to try out one of these wands for themselves.

Half an hour passed and nearly everyone had received their wands. Each had had a different effect depending on who was weilding it. Marcie's wand for example had caused the paint on the walls to change from a dull baige to a vibrant yellow-orange. Freida waved her wand around a bit too quickly, and was responsible for mr Ollivander's hair growing back at a thousand times it's original length. He was forced to cut it with a spell from his own wand and sweep the mountain of hair out the door. And when Schroeder had tried out his wand he had caused a radio to appear out of thin air and play Beethoven's Für Elise.

"A rather gifted lot you've got here Hagrid" Ollivander commented as Violet transformed Snoopy's head into a pumpkin.

_"Well, at least I'm all set for Halloween"_ Snoopy said optomistically about his new head... until mr Ollivander returned it to it's normal state _"Rats. So much for getting the biggest sack of candy"_

Charlie Brown watched as each of his remaining friends received their wands. He noticed that some of them, like Patty and Schroeder, had to go through a few different wands before finding one that worked just right. Pigpen took ten tries to get to his wand, which he used to make everyone else as filthy as he was (Violet and Patty threatened to pound him the minute they were unsupervised). All the while Mr Ollivander kept sneaking glances at Charlie Brown, and his voice was filled with enthusiasm as he beckoned Charlie Brown forward.

And now that it was his turn, Charlie Brown's insecurities started to sink in. What if none of these wands worked for him, what if he couldn't find the right wand and was forced to stay at home and not go to Hogwarts with his friends.

"Let's give this wand a try mr Brown. Elm with unicorn tail hair, twelve inches" Mr Ollivander said, handing Charlie Brown said wand. Charlie Brown waved it hopefully, but nothing happened.

Oh well, Charlie Brown tried to think comfortingly. So what, this wand didn't work with him, but most of his friends didn't get it right the first time. It didn't matter.

The second wand mr Ollivander presented to Charlie Brown had no effect either, and he had barely held the third wand two seconds before mr Ollivander snatched it back, saying it wouldn't do.

And things didn't pick up from there. Charlie Brown waved around many more wands of various different woods and cores, but not one of them was deemed suitable for him. After going through ten wands, Charlie Brown felt discouraged. After the twenty fifth no good wand, his heart was beginning to sink. After fifty wands, he really felt ashamed of himself.

Charlie Brown went through wand after wand after wand, but nothing seemed to work for him. Quite some time passed and the rest of the gang were becoming extremely bored and restless, but mr Ollivander was looking more and more delighted with each failed attempt.

"Look, can we just admit Charlie Brown's a dud and get on with our lives already?" Lucy asked as Charlie Brown failed to get a reaction out of a yew and dragon heartstring wand, much to the round headed boys dismay. Mr Ollivander seemed not to have heard Lucy's outburst however.

"You sure are a tricky customer, eh mr Brown" Mr Ollivander said joyfully. He gave Charlie Brown a curious look and muttered to himself "I wonder?"

Mr Ollivander pulled a ladder out from nowhere and climbed it up to the highest shelf. He pulled down a dusty old box, and removed a very finely made wand.

"An unusual combination. Holly and Phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple. I have a feeling, mr Brown, that this is the wand for you" Mr Ollivander said optomistically. With the luck he had been having so far, Charlie Brown doubted that.

But as the wand was handed to him, Charlie Brown felt a sudden warmth spread up his arm. He raised the wand up high, and from it's tip burst a series of red and gold stars. The other Peanuts all shot up from the ground in surprise, and Hagrid was loudly applauding Charlie Brown.

Charlie Brown gleefully hugged the holly wand, immensly relieved to know he wouldn't have to stay home while his friends became wizards. Mr Ollivander smiled mysteriously "How curious... how very curious" He said even more mysteriously.

Mr Ollivander took the wand back from Charlie Brown for a moment and placed it gently back in it's box, which he wrapped in brown wrapping paper before handing it back to Charlie Brown, all the while muttering "Curious... curious..."

"Um, excuse me but... what's curious?" Charlie Brown felt the need to ask.

"That a wand would actually WANT to choose you as it's master, duh" Violet snidely remarked, for once Patty didn't laugh along with her, probably because of the sharp look mr Ollivander sent in their direction.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, mr Brown" Mr Ollivander began, setting his pale gaze on Charlie Brown "It just so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather resides in your wand, gave another feather-just one other"

All eyes were locked on mr Ollivander, anxiously awaiting whatever bit of knowledge the old man was about to bestow upon them. Only Hagrid seemed to have the slightest clue as to what he was getting at, and he looked a bit uneasy.

"Yes mr Brown, it is curious that you should be destined for this wand when it's brother-why it's brother gave you that scar" Mr Ollivander finished dramatically. The room was filled with the sound of gulps from the children. Charlie Brown stared at the package in his hands, feeling a bit queasy to know his wand shared a connection with lord Voldemort's. What could this mean for him?

"Yes, thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Very powerful, and very dangerous in the wrong hands-of course I wouldn't have known what it would set out to do" Mr Ollivander added hastily, shooting a frightened look in Sally's direction before returning to his calm and mysterious tone "Curious indeed how these things happen, isn't it? The wand chooses the wizard, remember... I think we can expect great things from you mr Brown... After all, He Who Must Not Be Named did great things-terrible, yes, but great"

Charlie Brown could feel himself shivering, could hear his friends whispering urgently among themselves, but somehow mr Ollivander just continued to smile at the round headed boy before him.

"Right" Hagrid suddenly called, hoping to ease the tension "So, how much fer their wands?"

"That'll be seven galleons each" Mr Ollivander replied curtly, the Peanuts gang emptied their pockets and handed mr Ollivander the money for their wands, they were all quite eager to leave.

"That guy was creepy, anyone else agree?" Sally asked once they were all out the door. Apart from a few nods no-one payed her any attention, their gaze was still fixed upon Charlie Brown, who was still staring nervously at the brown package in his arms.

"You alright Charlie Brown?" Linus asked, concerned as usual for his friends emotional well being.

Charlie Brown hesitated before replying "Yes, I'm alright" His friends saw through the lie easily, but they all kept quiet, knowing anything they said would make things worse, as it always did.

"Look, don' worry about it. Jus' cause yer wand has some odd connection ter you-know-who's wand doesn't mean yer gonna turn out like him. An' it's not like that there's the wand that done your parents in, so don' worry about it" Hagrid said as gently as he could. Charlie Brown nodded, hoping that first statement was true, and wondering if there was any deeper, more sinister meaning behind him receiving the brother of lord Voldemort's wand.

"So, where to next?" Charlie Brown asked suddenly, hoping for any reason to change the subject.

"Well, we got everythin' on yer lists... anybody got the time on them?" Hagrid asked.

"It's about three now" Schroeder responded, checking his watch.

"Only three? Wow, we sure got done fast" Hagrid said thoughtfully.

"I still have change" Pigpen pointed out, holding up a single gold galleon. Everyone else did the same, while Charlie Brown stared guiltily at his still fat sack.

"Well, in tha' case, why don't yeh all take half an hour off ter look around an' buy sommat? Might as well" Hagrid suggested.

"And you said we wouldn't have time for shoe shopping?" Violet said smugly to Hagrid.

"And that our money might stretch a bit" Peppermint Patty said far less smugly.

"Eh, I'm not all that good with time an' money" Hagrid shrugged nonchelantly.

It took hardly five seconds for the gang to disperse around the alley to start their would be shopping frenzy. Charlie Brown was the only one who stayed behind with Hagrid, who was still insisting on buying him a birthday present. Charlie Brown tried politely to turn down his offer but Hagrid was determined, he took Charlie Brown to several different shops filled with all kinds of remerkrable objects. Charlie Brown turned down a fanged frisbee and several dangerous sounding prank devices from Zonko's joke shop, as well as a large box of honeydukes chocolate, feeling that he should at least get something that would help him at school. Eventually he settled on a small glass orb called a remembrall.

"What does that do?" Sally asked, unimpressed with her brothers choice of gift.

"It fills up with red smoke whenever you forget something, and clears up when you remember it. I thought it might come in handy when doing homework" Charlie Brown replied. His cheeks turned pink when he noticed the remembrall turn red and he struggled to remember whatever he had forgotten. It became clear as Snoopy burst through the window of Quality quidditch supplies on a broomstick, Woodstock flying behind them in his crazy upside down manner.

"Oh good grief" Charlie Brown groaned, and he, Hagrid and Sally persued the airborn beagle down the alley.

Meanwhile, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Pigpen and Linus had entered into a pet shop, where Pigpen had ended up buying a rat with a missing toe.

"I just felt bad for the little guy, all cooped up in that tiny cage. And mom said I could buy a pet sometime, I'm sure she won't mind" Pigpen replied to the curious stares of his friends.

"What you gonna call him?" Asked Peppermint Patty, giving the plump rat a stroke with her finger.

"I don't know, I was thinking something like mr furry pants. That sounds like a good pet name" Pigpen replied, but the rats indignant squeaking said it certainly didn't think so.

"I think it already has a name. Scabbers" Linus informed the group, reading the label below the rat's old cage.

"Scabbers? I like it" Pigpen said cheerfully, giving the rat a very gentle hug. The rest of the group took a moment to introduce themselves to Scabbers the rat before wandering around the rest of the store.

"They sure have some interesting creatures here for sale, don't they" Marcie said while looking fondly at a winged foal in the corner of the store. Peppermint Patty nodded in agreement, and while she may have been a tomboy, even she couldn't resist staring googly eyed at the adorable winded horse. She snapped back to normal however when she heard a loud scream.

"Get this thing off me!" Pigpen was screaming as a ginger cat scratched at his chest, trying to extract Scabbers from the pocket of his overalls. The rest of the gang ran to help pull the cat off of him.

"Oh Crookshanks, not again" Complained the shopkeeper as the ginger cat skulked off "That cat's always after Scabbers, he's fine with most rats actually but he's got some sort of a vendetta against that one. You gotta feel a little bad for him though, nobody wants to adopt him because they think he's ugly"

While Pigpen attenmpted to calm down his frightened rat and Marcie and Linus were admiring what looked like a jack russel terrier with a forked tail, Peppermint Patty had wandered of to examine some salamanders sitting in a large fire when she felt something brush against her legs.

Peppermint Patty stared down at the squashed face of crookshanks, who was purring and rubbing his head against her leg.

"You're not so bad a cat, are you. You just want a little love and affection" Peppermint Patty said, stroking the grateful cat "I'm sorry no one wants to take you home with them, if it makes you feel better I know what it's like to be unnatractive. Just look at this big nose and these stupid freckles"

Crookshanks did indeed stare at Patty's nose and freckles, which he licked tenderly. Peppermint Patty smiled appreciatively and cuddled the cat.

"Thanks pal. You don't look half bad to me. I guess some people just don't appreciate plain Jane's like us, huh" Crookshanks meowed indignantly at that statement "Oh, sorry, you're a plain John" Peppermint Patty ammended. She smiled ever wider as Crookshanks curled up in her arms.

Outside the pet shop, Charlie Brown, Sally, Schroeder, Freida and Hagrid were gathered around Snoopy and Woodstock, who had just crash landed their broom.

"So you say you weren't just joyriding with a stolen broom, you were running away from a cat that was chaseing you?" Charlie Brown asked the beagle, Snoopy nodded.

_"I could have taken him, but I was concerned for Woodstock's safety"_ Snoopy thought, Woodstock shook his head in disagreement.

"Wussy dog ain't he, scared o' cats? Even my dog Fang's not that scared" Said Hagrid.

"He's not much of a fighter. Most of us know never to buy a cat so it doesn't upset him" Schroeder replied, giving Freida a stern look.

"Hey, someone had to do something to get him motivated" Freida said defesively.

"By the way, what ever happened to Faron?" Sally asked, Freida's face fell.

"He suffered a heart attack when we were trying to get him down from a tree he got stuck in" Freida said, to uneasy looks from her friends.

"I'm sorry to hear that" Charlie Brown said sadly.

_"I'm not"_ Snoopy said, feeling guilty once he had _"Ok, maybe I should feel a little sorry, but still, I hate cats. And I hope nobody I know ever buys one again"_

"Hey guys, look, I bought a cat!" Peppermint Patty announced, exiting the store with Crookshanks in hand. Snoopy gave him one terrified look and let out a miserable howl "Was it something I said?"

Meanwhile, at a nearby clothes shop, Lucy, Violet and Patty were finally realising their desire to go clothes shopping. However, the only articles of clothing the store had were robes, socks and shoes.

"Not much selection, is there?" Patty said, examining a nice set of aqua robes.

"At least they're colourful. And stylish" Violet pointed out, she was wearing a set of sparkling emerald robes and high heeled shoes.

"I wonder how I'd look in these?" Lucy questioned, holding up robes of an ocean blue colour. Charlie Brown entered the store at that moment to avoid Doris Crockford, who had followed him from the Leaky Cauldron to shake his hand again... fifty times!

"Be honest Charlie Brown" Lucy said, holding the set of robes up in front of her body "Would I look fat in this dress?" Charlie Brown decided he'd rather take his chances with Doris Crockford than answer that question.

"WELL WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!" Lucy screamed furiously, to riotous laughter from Violet and Patty.

The rest of the half hour passed by a bit too quickly for anyone's likings. Sally had of course dragged her brother around to buy him as many gifts as possible in the short time period. Schroeder had bought a tape featuring a wide range of wizarding music merely so he could compare it to Beethoven. Hagrid was just rounding everyone up to deliver the bad news that they had to leave when a tornado of flames suddenly sprung up behind them. Everyone screamed in terror, but Hagrid looked quite calm as he watched the flames subside to reveal a swan sized bird with red and gold plumage, and a scorched, bespeccled man who looked like the wizarding equivalent to a mad scientist.

"Ok, That's the last time I travel by phoenix" The man panted in a squeaky voice, releasing his grip on the birds tail. He looked between the eleven children and then to Hagrid "Hiya Hagrid"

"Hullo Louis" Hagrid greeted with a friendly wave "Kids, meet Louis McDuff, he teaches magical technology classes at Hogwarts"

"Magical technology?" Most of the kids wondered.

"Yes, truly the most fascinating of subjects. Oh, the wonders that can be achieved by combining our magic with the marvels that we call machines" The Man said with a romantic sigh "Oh, right, I'm here to deliver a message from professor Dumbledore regarding the students submission into Hogwarts"

"What is it! Are we in!" Everyone screamed anxiously, Louis Mcduff smiled euthorically at them.

"Worry not children, you're places at our fair school have been secured" Louis announced, to many relieved sighs from the Peanuts, especially Charlie Brown.

"That's a relief" Charlie Brown said, Louis Mcduff took a good look at him and shocked everyone when he gave Charlie Brown a hug "Charlie Brown! It's so good to finally see you again!" He cried joyously, then noticing Sally he pulled her into the hug "Sally! You look as pretty as your mother, but you've got a bit of your dads head shape to you! And I don't know where you got that tuft of hair from. But oh well, it's good to see you both!"

Everyone giggled at the sight before them, while Sally tried awkwardly to slip free from Louis's grip.

"How do you know who we are" Charlie Brown gasped, for Louis was beggining to crush his lungs with his hug.

Louis released Charlie Brown and Sally and showed them his wide, toothy grin "Your mummy and daddy and I were pals at Hogwarts, it was your mother that gave me the confidence to persue my dreams of becoming a wizard inventor and to pass my knowledge of magical machinery on to young wizards and witches as a teacher. I actually invented the subject of Magical Technology, you know. Couldn't figure out why nobody had done it before" He explained, and then pulled the children into another hug "It's good to see you both"

After another five minutes of hugging Linus pointed out that Sally and Charlie Brown were in desperate need of air, so Louis reluctantly let them go.

"Glad ter know professor Dumbledore got me message already. Hope he's not too angry about me bein' so late" Hagrid said glumbly, Louis tiptoed up to pat his elbow comfortingly.

"Don't worry, he's not mad. He's never mad at anyone cause he's so nice" Louis said optomistically, he then turned to face all the other children "Oh, and you must be all Charlie and Sally's little friends"

"Maybe" Violet said quickly, not really wanting to talk to this weirdo.

"Well I hope to see you all at school. Hopefully a few of you will choose to take my class. I hope you do, I really need students!" Louis said, holding his hands together pleadingly. The kids all looked sympathetically at his miserable face.

"Say Louis, if yeh got time why don't yeh join us, we were just gonna go back ter catch the portkey" Hagrid offered, Louis looked disappointed.

"Wish I could, but I really don't have time. I just came here with Fawkes to deliver the message, I'm nearly finished on my latest invention, the worlds forst magically operated toaster!" Louis announced, punching a fist into the air dramatically. All the Peanuts sweat dropped.

"Well, alright, good luck with that" Hagrid said.

"Thanks, see you in a few hours. Or the next month" Louis said sarcastically, turning his attention back to Charlie Brown and Sally.

"It was nice to finally meet you. Let's meet up again at Hogwarts, there's a lot of stuff we can talk about regarding your parents" Louis offered, Charlie Brown and Sally looked delighted... at least Sally did until she remembered she couldn't go yet.

Louis bade the other children ado and gripped Fawkes the phoenix's claws again, and they disappeared in a burst of flames.

"That was incredible" Pigpen said, referring to the flames.

"That guy's a nut, ain't he" Lucy said to Hagrid, who to everyones surprise nodded in agreement.

"For the most part he is a nutter. Nice chap, but completely mental. He makes a lotta fantastic contraptions though, jus' the other year he invented the worlds first teleporter. Try out didn't go ter plan though, he ended up releasing a nundu inter the castle" Hagrid replied, for some reason he looked fondly to the sky.

"What's a nundu?" Linus asked curiously, Hagrid grinned broadly.

"The most dangerous magical creature alive. It's like a giant leopard, absolutely enormous. It's breath alone was toxic enough ter kill a whole village of wizards. Marvelous thing" Hagrid said dreamily "Course, it woulda killed us all if Dumbledore hadn't been so brave and got all the students and teacher ter point their wands and cast the stunning spell at it. Knocked it out cold. Professor Dumbledore had Louis send it back to Africa through the teleporter and asked him ter never use it again. Lost him his first job as defense against the dark arts teacher too"

"I thought professor Quirrel taught us that" Marcie said.

"He only got the job this year. Ter tell yeh the truth, no ones had the job fer more than a year fer... well, quite some time now. They say the jobs jinxed" Hagrid replied, perking the interests of the Peanuts. There time to speculate was short however, as Hagrid suddenly called "Oh right! We gotta get back ter the portkey before it's too late!"

After making sure everybody was present, the gang set off back to the old construction site. With a last long look at Diagon Alley they all left through the Leaky Cauldron, dodging the pubgoers and slamming the door in Rita Skeeter's face. They arrived back by the old slipper just two minutes before four o' clock.

"Everybody hold on now" Hagrid called, everyone groaned miserably as they clutched onto the portkey. Once again Charlie Brown felt the horrible, swirling sensation and when he landed back in the forest, his friends once again piled on top of him, along with the new additions of Crookshanks and Scabbers. He still felt sick, but he had to admit Hagrid was right, it didn't feel so bad as last time.

"That was too short" Patty commented, everybody muttered in agreement.

"Don' worry, yeh'll all have plenty of fun when yeh get ter Hogwarts" Hagrid promised, earning him eleven happy smiles.

Hagrid pulled everyone equipment out from the endless depths of his coat and handed them out among the kids before leading them all back into town.

"Alright, listen carefully. See this slipper" Hagrid said half way through the walk home, holding the slipper portkey up for everyone to see "It's still active, it's set ter go off again at eleven o'clock on september the first. On that day it'll take yeh ter King's Cross station in London, where yeh'll be boarding the Hogwarts express ter take yeh to school. Make sure yeh get all yer stuff ready on that day and meet up at Charlie and Sally's home. I've already told Richard and mrs Brown, they'll take yeh there and then catch the portkey back. If one of yeh does miss it though, we'll send someone ter check on yeh the next day. Everybody clear?"

"We're clear" The kids chimed, Hagrid beamed at them as they arrived at the Brown residence, where mr and mrs Brown were waiting for them on the front lawn. Richard looked a lot healthier than he had in the morning.

"All set for school son?" Richard asked, Charlie Brown nodded, setting his cauldron and other stuff down to hug his adoptive father. Sally did the same with her bag of material goods and hugged Charlotte Brown.

"Thanks for sorting everything out Hagrid, I'm sorry I ever doubted you" Charlotte said sincerely.

"Yer most welcome mrs Brown" Hagrid said politely. He looked sadly towards Charlie Brown and the other Peanuts and said "Well, looks like this is goodbye. I hope ter see yeh all again at Hogwarts"

"We hope to see you too Hagrid" Charlie Brown said kindly, and everyone else enthusiastically voiced their agreement. Hagrid looked politely flustered.

"Can' wait, see yeh" Hagrid said, walking off. He then jumped and pulled out nine scarlet tickets "Almost forgot, how could I forget. Yer tickets" He said, handing the tickets out to the group. Charlie Brown stared at the ticket, and was confused by the name of the platform written on it.

"But Hagrid, this says platform nine and three quarters. There's no such thing, is there?" But when Charlie Brown looked up, Hagrid was gone.

Everyone gasped in astonishment at Hagrid's disappearance, while mr Brown merely chuckled.

"That's Hagrid, such as show-off at times" Richard commented.

Charlotte helped her children carry in their stuff while Richard Brown got the rest of the gang into the car to take them to their respective homes.

"This sure was a fun day wasn't it Charlie Brown" Lucy said.

"It sure was. I'll see you all tomorrow" Charlie Brown said with a wave to his friends.

"Sure thing Chuck" Peppermint Patty waved from in the car, Crookshanks curling up on her lap. Snoopy stared at the cat in disgust through the window, in return Crookshanks hissed at him. Snoopy ran into the house screaming, Woodstock smiled sheepishly at the ginger cat through the window and snuck off quietly, praying he wouldn't try to eat him.

Charlie Brown and Sally wished the rest of their friends goodbye as mr Brown's car pulled out of the driveway and set off down the road.

"By the way Sally, we will be having pancakes for dinner" Charlotte called from the front door, Sally jumped for joy while Charlie Brown just smiled at her. This had sure been quite a day for ol' Charlie Brown, and though he still had quite a few concerns, mostly about the events at Ollivanders and his still present problem of only being allowed one pet at Hogwarts, Charlie Brown still felt he'd had a pretty good time in Diagon Alley.

"By the way big brother, can I borrow your reminder all thingy, I don't know but I think I had a report I had to do over the summer, and I want to know if I've forgotten to do it" Sally said.

"Sure thing, I have it right here in my po-" Charlie Brown stopped when he realised there was no remembrall in his pocket, just an empty wallet and a reduced sack of galleons "Oh good grief"

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><p><strong>Tiger Lover 16: Yeah, that ending feels rushed, by I had no idea how to end this chapter in a satisfying way. Ok, I'm glad this ones out of the way. Now I want to say, while I still think it should have turned out better I did have a lot of fun writing it. I know Hagrid throwing Rita Skeeter out the door might seem out of character, but I just thought it would be funny, and I hate Rita Skeeter. And Hagrid's a very loyal friend, and he's friends with Lily Potter so, yeah, I suppose it might work. I know a lot of you will be complaining that I replaced Draco Malfoy with a little brother OC, but I did that for a reason. Harry Potter and most of his classmates still exist in this story, but they're all a year ahead of Charlie Brown and friends. I did that because I thought I didn't want them all in the same class, I moved Neville down a year so he's still a classmate of Charlie Brown and friends, but I didn't want to do that with too many characters if I could help it. Neil was the name of someone unpleasant I know, so I thought I'd use it for the OC. For the most part Neil Malfoy's a lot like his brother, but he's a bit more a comic relief villain and more immature at times. I'll have a few OC's in this story, like Louis Mcduff, but mostly it's the canon characters of Harry Potter and Peanuts. I don't know when the next chapter will be up, but I'll try not to be too long. Next chapter we should finally get to Hogwarts, I wonder what house everyone will be in? Keep reading to find out.<strong>


	5. It's Hogwarts, Charlie Brown

**Tiger lover 16: Ok, here I am with chapter 4. I've got to admit, once again I don't think this chapters as good as it should have been. Though I admit I was kind of anticipating that, I knew I would never write the first chapter at Hogwarts up to my own expectations, yet alone everyone elses, but I'm fairly proud of it anyway. There are a lot of parts that still feel rushed, but that's partly due to how it's adapter from the book. Speaking of which, a lot of this chapter is actually taken from Philosopher's stone, especially the hats song and professor McGonagall's speeches, mainly because I can't write my own song and I have trouble adapting certain scenes so that they seem original. Don't worry though, now that we're at Hogwarts things are really going to start to pick up. I have a lot of fun ideas that I'm eager to carry out, but that will have to wait. For now I'm just glad to publish this chapter. I think in terms of word count this is now the longest story in the Peanuts section too, so there's an achievement. Well, I hope you enjoy the chapter, even if it's not as good as it should be. See you at the bottom of the page.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4, It's Hogwarts, Charlie Brown<strong>

The next two weeks after Charlie Brown's trip to Diagon Alley passed by quickly, but much happened during this time. For the first few days the Peanuts gang were seldom seen not reading one of their Hogwarts books or learning how to use their brass telescopes and cauldrons. Most found Defensive magical Theory and Fantastic beasts to be the best reads, while finding "A History of Magic" To be the most boring (Apart from Linus and Marcie). Snoopy had been banned from reading his copy of Fantastic Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them after his attempts to imitate a dragon caused the house to burn down.

Richard Brown had accidentally let slip that the ministry didn't keep tabs on underage magic cast by wizards just before their first trip to Hogwarts, and though he made everyone promise not to go casting spells Lucy could not resist the temptation and cast several different spells listed in her books. Some of them actually worked adequatly, but most of the time she just caused things to blow up. This had quickly earned her the nickname Lady Dynamite among her friends.

Another morning Charlie Brown was eating breakfast when an owl flew clumsily through the window and accidentally knocked his food onto the floor. The owl had Charlie Brown's lost remembrall in a pouch on it's leg, which came with a letter from Hagrid saying he'd found it stuck to the sole of his shoe. Charlie Brown made sure to wash the glass orb thoroughly.

Snoopy meanwhile had developed a contentious relationship with Peppermint Patty's new cat, Crookshanks. While most of the time Crookshanks was cool and indifferent to the beagle, Snoopy's habit of making degrading remarks about his species had caused the flat faced cat to slash at him occasionally. Woodstock's fear that Crookshanks would want to eat him proved accurate, whenever they were within twenty feet of each other Crookshanks would stare restlessly at Woodstock, and more than one time tried to pounce on him. Snoopy had always come to Woodstock's aid, but he usually fared no better against Crookshanks than he did against the cat next door.

Most of the kids seemed to like Crookshanks though, and the cat acted very cute and cuddly towards them. Only Pigpen seemed to be immune to his charms, as Crookshanks pounced on him at every opportunity he could to try and get at Scabbers the rat, who he seemed determined to gobble up. He even ignored the presence of Woodstock whenever he could smell Pigpen approaching with Scabbers in his pocket.

Violet and Patty had ridiculed Pigpen for his decision in adopting Scabbers as his pocket companion, letting loose remarks like "That flithy things a perfect match for you" And "I guess every rat needs a dirt mound to live in" Pigpen was as impassive to them as ever though, he was quite content with his new pet, even if he did find him a bit too lazy. Sally had made a huge effort to avoid Pigpen ever since arriving home from Diagon Alley, she was absolutely terrified of rats, to the point that when she did see Pigpen with Scabbers lounging on his shoulder she would scream at Z-sharp and run off in the opposite direction even if there was a tree in the way.

"You didn't have a problem with Hagrid's mice" Charlie Brown tried to reason with his sister.

"Mice don't carry the pew-tonic plague!" Sally shot back, quaking in her morning slippers.

"Bubonic" Charlie Brown corrected.

"Don't be vulgar, big brother" Sally said sterly, Charlie Brown sighed and walked off.

When he was done reading all his schoolbooks for the third time Charlie Brown got around to using some of his birthday presents. Sadly, the kite eating tree was well aware of the passage of time, so did not cut Charlie Brown a break when he tried to fly the returned kite. Charlie Brown didn't mind though, there was something else he was eager to do.

"So you just hold the football and I'll come running up to kick it" Charlie Brown instructed to Linus, who nodded in confirmation.

"This is great" Charlie Brown said to himself, stepping back a good distance before running at the football "Lucy made a mistake giving me a football for my birthday, now I never have to fall for her tricks again. Finally I can get someone reliable to hold the ball for me, and I'll kick it straight to the moon. I know this time I'm gonna do it, there's just no way Linus wou-AUGH!" And Charlie Brown flew into the air and landed on his back, because Linus had pulled the football away.

"I'm terribly sorry Charlie Brown, I really wanted to let you kick the football for once but Lucy had predicted this. She stole my blanket and threatened to throw it into the trash burner if I didn't pull the ball away. I'm Sorry, I had no choice" Linus explained meekly, as if on cue Lucy appeared and, though looking very reluctant, dropped Linus's security blanket on his head.

"Better luck next friend, Charlie Brown" Lucy said to Charlie Brown, who was still lying on the floor in pain. She smiled wickedly and walked off, Charlie Brown didn't bother asking any of his other friends to hold the football for him that week, he just knew Lucy had a plan to convince each one of them to pull it away.

Sally kept borrowing Charlie Brown's school books without permission, wanting to get an early start on learning magic. Strange as it may sound for her. Charlie Brown stared at his reduced stack of books one morning with a look of mild annoyance and pulled out two of the books.

A Year in The Life turned out to be a biography about a witch who had authored a series of famous books about a boy living in the wizarding world who had then discovered he was really a muggle and gone off to some muggle boarding school in England. From what he had read the books were popular but extremely controversial, Charlie Brown wondered how this book would help him aquire an education in wizardry, it just didn't seem to fit in anywhere with the other school books.

A notice at the back of the biography also told Charlie Brown that the same author wrote the Kneazlie Weazely books Snoopy had complained about. When Snoopy learned this he attacked the book, and would have torn it to shreads if not for the timely intervention of Charlotte Brown, who had entered Charlie's room with some of his clean laundry. By Charlie Brown's luck the book was still severely damaged however.

The other book Charlie Brown read was "The art of magical machinery" By Louis Mcduff, who would be an optional teacher at Hogwarts. Though Charlie Brown had not been intending to buy this book, Hagrid had bought a copy for everyone just to be on the safe side.

Charlie Brown had taken a long time to decide whether or not he wanted to take the optional subject of Magical Technology. On the one hand it meant extra work and could have been very difficult, and on the other hand, Louis Mcduff had claimed to be an old friend of Charlie Brown's birth parents, meaning he could tell him a lot about them. And on the first hand again, Louis was pretty weird and his magical inventions sounded fatally dangerous, but on the second hand once more Charlie Brown felt bad for Louis since he had made it sound like he had few students and he did treat Charlie Brown nicely.

Eventually Charlie Brown decided to persue the subject after hearing a few of his friends were going to take it. Even if he didn't do good at the subject he would have some people he knew to talk to during them, and he thought he might always be able to drop the subject if it was too difficult or took too much time away from his homework.

And finally, on the very last day of August, Charlie Brown had managed to sort out his problem of being limited to one pet at Hogwarts. He would convince the teachers that Woodstock was Marcie's pet bird.

"I would be happy to be Woodstock's pretend owner Charles, it just wouldn't be quite as much fun at Hogwarts without his and Snoopy's presence" Marcie had said to excited cheering from Charlie Brown, Snoopy and especially Woodstock.

"Now Woodstock, I know you're sort of your own bird but if we're going to pull this off you're going to have to show a lot of affection to Marcie, just so that the teacher's don't get suspiscious. Do you think you can do that?" Charlie Brown asked. For an answer Woodstock rubbed up affectionately against Marcie's cheek, Marcie smiled and patted the yellow bird while Snoopy performed his happy dance, delighted to know he could go to Hogwarts with his best friend in tow.

There was still one problem with having Woodstock associate himself with Marcie however...

_"GET AWAY FROM MY BUDDY YOU STUPID CAT!"_ Snoopy screamed, holding back a wild Crookshanks as Woodstock dug a hole in the ground in which to escape from the cat, who was currently sheering all of Snoopy's fur off.

"Maybe Woodstock shouldn't stick to Marcie when the two of us are hanging out" Peppermint Patty suggested.

"But you two spend most of your time together, and Crookshanks never leaves your side anymore. Doesn't that complicate matters?" Charlie Brown worried.

"No problem Chuck" Peppermint Patty replied, whistling loudly at her cat. Crookshanks suddenly stopped shredding Snoopy and calmly strolled over to stand by her side "See, problem solved" But Charlie Brown still saw Crookshanks eyeing the resurfacing Woodstock menacingly.

With his pet problem finally solved and only one day left until he was set to go off to Hogwarts, Charlie Brown finally had the time to worry about his one remaining problem. How much he was going to miss his family. He could hardly look his parents in the eye while eating dinner that night, and when Sally told him a joke about a screwdriver and Abraham Lincon's hat, his laugh was more forced than usual.

"So, what is it that's got you down this time?" Sally asked as both siblings were watching TV. Charlie Brown sighed.

"Now that it's almost time to go I'm starting to feel remorseful. I've tried not to think about it until now, but I'm really going to miss you, mom and dad when I'm at Hogwarts" Charlie Brown answered sadly.

"I'm going to miss you too" Sally said sweetly, Charlie Brown smiled appreciatively. Then of course she had to add "By the way, while you're still here would you mind helping me move my stuff into your room. I can't wait to move in there"

"Good grief" Charlie Brown groaned. He knew Sally was just asking him that to tease him, but that's what she was going to do. She'd desired to have his room for years now, and of course she was going to jump at the opportunity to finally get it to herself. He knew she was sincere in saying she would miss him, any little sister would have to feel that way, even if they had little to no respect for their brother. But still, her last remark did make him wonder...

"Don't worry Charlie, we'll make sure your rooms just as you left it when you get back from school" Charlotte Brown announced as she appeared through the kitchen door, Sally folded her arms, grumpy at having to admit defeat. Her mother was the one person she would never argue with.

Charlie Brown smiled weakly at his mother, oh how he would miss her. He would miss her loving hugs, he would miss her fresh baked apple pie, he would miss her loving nature and strange humor.

"Right, as unwise it may be to drag you away from your programmes Sally, I'm afraid it's time for bed. Big day tomorrow" Richard Brown said importantly. Sally muttered a few angry comments under her breath but did not do anything too extreme. Charlie Brown was going to miss his father too, his kind words and great advice, his stories about his life as a young man, his loving family-man nature, everything about him Charlie Brown would miss.

Good grief, just what was he thinking leaving all this behind.

Charlie Brown put a little extra love into the hugs he gave his parents before heading off to bed, and he could just feel them doing the same. He wanted to say so much, he wanted to tell them how they were the greatest parents in the world, tell them he appreciated every last second he had ever spent with them and that he didn't want to wake up in the mornings and not see them sitting at the table, sipping coffee and wishing him a good morning. But ultimately he uttered no more than a mere good night before climbing the stairs to a sleepless night in bed.

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><p>It was ten o' clock in the morning, and Snoopy was sitting on his doghouse packing a suitcase full of cookies.<p>

_"There, all set"_ Snoopy commented, with his suitcase stuffed full of cookies and all his other possessions stored securely within his doghouse Snoopy stood up on the roof, stared over the fence and yelled _"Hey you stupid cat who lives next door, guess what? I'm going to Great Britain with the round headed kid and his friends to live in a magic school full of wizards and pretty witches! And you know what the best part is? I don't have to see your ugly face for a whole year!"_

Snoopy burst out in laughter at his own snide comment, his doghouse was promptly torn apart by a swipe from old World War II, and Snoopy fell backwards off his destroyed home and landed on his head.

_"Well thanks a lot pal, I was going to take that with me! Just for that, I'm not sending you a Christmas card this year!"_ Snoopy yelled in outrage. He ran off in terror as the cat prepared another attack.

"It's a good thing we keep spares of these things, though sometimes I wish Snoopy would just keep his thoughts to himself" Richard Brown commented, carrying a new dog house out of the garage in a wheelbarrow.

Charlie Brown and Woodstock helped Snoopy pull his food bowl, his pool table, his refrigerator and his Van Gogh out of the rubble of the old doghouse. Charlie Brown had a curious look on his face when he saw the priceless painting.

"I thought your Van Gogh was destroyed in that fire, how'd you get a new one?" Charlie Brown asked.

_"I know a golden retriever. There's a reason they're called that you know"_ Snoopy thought, hanging the painting in the spare bedroom of his new dog house.

After Snoopy was all packed again he joined Charlie Brown in welcoming his friends into the house. The living room was extremely cramped at the moment, because all the gang's families had gathered together to say goodbye to the departing witches and wizards.

"Now promise me you'll be a good girl Patty, and take good care of yourself" Mrs Roberts instructed, wrapping her daughter in an embrace she refused to release her from.

"I'll be fine mom" Patty said, patting her mother on the back.

"I know, you're a big girl now, you're hardly the small baby I brought home from the hospital almost twelve years ago" Mrs Roberts said, tears swelling up in her eyes as she hugged her little angel ever tighter. Patty's face was starting to turn blue.

"I always knew the day would come when you'd be ready to leave home sweetie. But good grief, I always thought you'd be eighteen years or older, not eleven. And I certainly never would have thought you'd be going to a wizard school. Just goes to show, you never can tell what the future will bring" Commented Pigpen's mother. As opposed to their dust magnet of a son, Pigpen's parents were very clean and well groomed people. Charlie Brown had attempted to ask their family name, but was cut off when Crookshanks lunged at Pigpen and started a chase all around the house for his pet rat.

"Don't you think it would have been wise to put him in a pet carrier?" Freida asked the cat's tomboy owner, Peppermint Patty merely shrugged and replied "Probably"

Lucy's family had taken a slightly less emotional approach to saying goodbye at first, all of them making jokes about how peaceful life would be without her. They quickly disregarded this relieved act however, and soon Lucy's parent's were hugging her tighter than Patty's.

"It is going to be very, very quiet around the house without you honey. I don't know how I'll be able to bear life without your fussing" Mrs Van Pelt said in a remarkrably sad tone.

"Life certainly will be different from now on. And while this isn't exactly what I had in mind for the path you would take with your life Lucy... I just want you to know, I'm proud of you, and I support anything you do that makes you happy" Lucy's father informed the crabby girl, who hugged him tenderly.

"Well, I guess this is it. After ten whole years together, we're finally going to be living apart from each other for a while..." Linus began, half-sad, half-delighted at the prospect of Lucy living overseas for nearly a year and not putting him through a routine of daily torment.

"Don't worry little brother, next summer when I get back I promise I'll spend every minute of my time making it up to you" Lucy said with a smile that was too wide to be sincere. Linus grimaced at the thoughts of how Lucy was going to make his life extra miserable during their next summer vacation.

"Now Rerun, you look after yourself. Study hard, speak politely and stop hiding under the bed and just go to school" Lucy instructed her youngest sibling, Rerun responded with a salute.

"Yes ma'am" Rerun said in a sarcastically respectful manner, Lucy's eye twitched at her brother's teasing but refrained from punching his lights out. She was much nicer to Rerun than she ever was to Linus.

"This is the big day Marcie, make us proud sweetie" Mrs Johnson was telling her daughter.

"We just know you'll make us proud dear, we know you'll be a fine witch" Praised mr Johnson.

"Thanks mom, thank dad, I'll try my best to-"

"Trying isn't enough, if you're going to get anywhere in this world you've got to buckle down and devote every waking moment of your life to studying. Throw yourself into your schoolwork Marcie!" Mr Johnson instructed.

"We have much confidence in you dear, but if your going to get anywhere in the world you can't afford to simply try your best. You've got to be the best. We have high expectations for you sweetie" Mrs Johnson added, Marcie started to feel a bit queezy.

"Well, I-"

"Why, just think, if you apply yourself properly you could take up the position of minister for magic within seven years of graduation" Mrs Johnson said optomistically.

"That's exactly what I was thinking. Work hard Marcie, come out on top of your class and show the world you're a perfectionist!" Mr Johnson declared.

"I will dad, but I don't-"

"We know you'll do us proud Marcie, just keep at it mrs future minister" Mrs Johnson said, Marcie clutched her aching stomach.

_"Curse the expectations, if I had known the price of an above average intellect I would have been born an idiot"_ Marcie thought miserably.

Charlie Brown stood on the sidelines with Shermy and Franklin, watching as all the loving families said their last goodbyes. It made him feel more nauceous than Marcie. He knew it would be a little while longer before he bid his parents farewell for the year, but seeing all his friends do so with their's left him with a feeling of impending doom. Could he really go through life without Richard and Charlotte Brown, could he really survive a year away from his sister. He supposed Sally wouldn't mind it much, but what did his parents think. He had avoided speaking with them about the subject of his departure, how were they taking this. Would they miss him half as much as he'd miss them?

"Boy, you guys are so lucky" Shermy said, snapping Charlie Brown momentarily out of his miserable thoughts "I wish I could go away to learn magic, I'd jump for a chance to be a wizard. But no, I never get to do anything fun anymore. And you know why?"

Charlie Brown shook his head and Shermy complained "It's because I'm not interesting! Admit it Charlie Brown, the reason I never get to tag along in all the fun things you guys do is because I have no personality!"

"That's not true Shermy" Charlie Brown said, though he felt like he was lying.

"Oh yeah Charlie Brown? Tell me, if you were describing the unique qualities of our gang, what defining characteristic do I possess that would merit me a mention?" Shermy desperately demanded, Charlie Brown hesitated for a while.

"Well... you're the designated hitter on our baseball team" Charlie Brown offered meekly. Shermy stared blankly at him before his face fell, Charlie Brown sighed "Sorry, I guess that wasn't very interesting, huh"

"Like I said, no personality" Shermy said bitterly.

Richard Brown watched on from the living room door, having little room to sit or stand within the room itself. He checked his watch, 10:30. He sighed remorsefully and took out a whistle, the noise it produced silenced the chattering crowds of parents and children.

"Right everyone, as much as it pains me to cut the goodbyes short, though you've had half an hour, I'm afraid we really must be going" Richard announced, holding out the portkey slipper to emphasise his next point "We have to be in the forest by eleven, it's the only place we can take the portkey without worry of many people passing by. Parents, know that your children will be in safe hands at Hogwarts, and I've arranged with Hagrid a way for you all to send messages to one another. I understand this has been a most... difficult experience for you, to say the least. I just want to thank you all for being so understanding and supporting your children's wishes to attend Hogwarts. And of course for throwing no more than a single vase at my head"

Mrs Roberts chuckled nervously at that last remark before she like everyone else turned remorseful. Everyone exited out the front door, and once within the less confinded space of the front yard began to say some quick, final goodbyes.

"Goodbye son, take very good care" Mr Evans said as his wife hugged Schroeder.

"I always said you were a rare gem Patty, I know you'll do me proud. I'm going to miss you so much" Mr Reichard said, breaking into tears as he embraced his daughter.

"Goodbye Violet, prove to all those Brit's just how superior you are to them" Mr Gray said smugly, to much eye rolling from his less snobbish wife.

When Mr Roberts had finally managed to convince his wife to stop hugging their daughter to death, Shermy had strolled up and gave her another, much softer hug.

"I'll write to you every day, I promise. You won't forget about me while you're away, right?" Shermy asked desperately to his girlfriend, who sensed his nervousness and gave a playful smirk.

"Well, I don't know. I hear British boys can be real charmers..." Patty said thoughtfully, after enjoying the terrified look on her boyfriends face she added "Of course I'm not gonna forget you silly, how could I even think about forgetting the worlds greatest boyfriend?"

"I love you Patty, you know that?" Shermy asked. He didn't bother waiting for an answer before giving her a big kiss.

"Oh get a room you two" Lucy groaned, Patty and Shermy pulled apart, looking embarassed as everybody laughed at their public display of affection.

"Ok, everyone got their luggage" Mr Brown called over all the laughter, the gang all patted their stuffed trunks in response "Good, hope you haven't forgotten anything. Right... let's go"

The kids families all waved and bid their last goodbyes, as did Shermy and Franklin, as Charlie Brown and friends set out at last to begin their new lives as Hogwarts students.

Now that their parents were finally out of sight, panic was starting to set in. More than once had Richard and Charlotte been forced to hold one of the Peanuts by the collar to prevent them from running straight back home.

"I want my mommy!" Pigpen had been the first to cry.

Yes, it was a rather miserable trip into the forest. But somehow, despite the interuptions, the group had managed to get there in time with one minute to spare.

"Right, this is it. Quickly now, everyone grab the portkey with one hand and your trunks with the other. And Snoopy, hold onto that doghouse. Everyone ready?" Richard asked, the kids all groaned in response, knowing the unpleasantness they were about to experience.

And just like that, The children were swirling through the air at breakneck speed. The only difference from their last two trips with the portkey was that Charlie Brown was squashed under the trunks, doghouse and mr and mrs Brown in addition to his friends.

"I must say Charlie Brown, you have an incredible tolerance to pain" Schroeder complimented Charlie Brown's ability to stand afterwards, Charlie Brown smiled weakly before falling on his back.

"Maybe we should have brought another wheelbarrow" Charlotte said worryingly.

Peppermint Patty and Lucy supported Charlie Brown as they led him out of the dark alleyway and towards King's Cross train station. Charlie Brown had only ever been in a train station once or twice in his life, so the sight of the trains was spectacular to him.

After everyone had procured a trolley for their luggage the group made their way across platforms. Charlie Brown noticed that they were attracting quite as much attention as when they had been wandering through London with Hagrid, mostly due to Crookshanks's determined efforts to snatch Scabbers out of Pigpen's pocket and because Snoopy had slapped on his flying ace helmet and was pretending to fly off on his never ending quest to shoot down the Red Baron.

"Just don't get too many bullet holes in that old sopwich camel Snoopy, this doghouse has got to last you" Richard Brown said half jokingly.

_"Tell that to Manfred Von Richthofen"_ Snoopy thought as, in his imagination, he was once again shot down by his greatest enemy _"CURSE YOU RED BARON!"_

_"III II" _Woodstock groaned, as the flying ace's machanic he knew he would be charged with the task of "Fixing" the "Plane"

Snoopy's fantasy ended right as the gang reached the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Charlie Brown's heart gave a nervous jolt, the ticket Hagrid had given them said something about a platform nine and three quarters. But of course there was no such thing, right? How was it logic to have a platform anything and three quarters? And if it was here, he couldn't see it.

With those same thoughts in their heads the kids all turned expectantly to Richard Brown, who was about to say something before noticing a couple of red haired people standing between the barriers.

"Ok Ron, your turn next" Charlie Brown could hear the mother of the group calling. A twelve year old red haired boy stepped forward with his trolley and ran at the barrier. Charlie Brown quickly covered his eyes, not wanting to see the results. But there was no thundering crash, and when Charlie Brown got up the nerve to look again, the boy had gone. His friends however were gasping in astonishment.

"Did you see that! He disappeared straight into the wall!" Peppermint Patty yelled in amazement, the muggles passing gave her a strange look and carried on their business.

"And that's all you need to do to get onto platform nine and three quarters" Richard Brown said confidently.

Charlie Brown stared meekly at the stone wall between the platforms, it looked pretty solid to him. Had the boy really vanished through the barrier, how could he be sure since he hadn't seen it.

Charlie Brown was so caught up in this worry that he didn't realise until he'd heard his friends gasps that the remaining three members of the red haired family had vanished from sight.

"Incredible!"

Unbelievable!"

"Stupendous!"

_"III IIII!"_

Charlie Brown friends all voiced their excitement while he just moped at having missed the family disappear into the barrier.

"See, it's not that difficult. Best go at a bit of a run, just one at a time please!" Richard instructed. The initial excitement among the friends was replaced with anxious hesitation. Charlie Brown could understand their concerns easily, what if the barrier didn't work for them as it had supposedly done for the red haired family. What if when they all went running at it, they just crashed and made a complete fool out of themselves. Charlie Brown decided he was quite content to go last.

"Ok then, you first Charlie Brown" Lucy said, shoving Charlie Brown and his trolley in front of the barrier.

"WHAT?" Charlie Brown exclaimed.

"I think we're all in agreement that you, being born half wizard, should be the first to take the plunge through the barrier into platform nine and three quarters. It's only fair" Lucy replied. It was her most horrible excuse ever, and if all his friends weren't shouting out in agreement Charlie Brown would have utterly refused.

"It'll be fine Charlie, there's nothing to worry about" Charlotte said as encouragingly as she could.

Nothing to worry about? What about the likelyhood of just crashing into a brick wall and breaking his neck! Charlie Brown held his stomach, not wanting to go through with this, but everyone was encouraging him to go for it.

With more courage than he thought he had at the moment, Charlie Brown sealed his eyes shut and ran up to the barrier like it was Lucy's football. And he just knew the results would be nearly the same. Charlie Brown tried to stop himself, but at the speed he had took off he would be unable to stop the trolley in time.

'I'm doomed! I'm going to crash and hurt myself, and everybody's just gonna laugh at my misfortune!" Charlie Brown thought miserably. Why hadn't any of his friends volunteered to go instead. He supposed it was okay with them if ol' Charlie Brown crashed into a wall, he was used to bad luck, he was used to hurting himself. So what if he did it again, it wasn't their problem. Charlie Brown kept his eyes sealed, waiting for the impact. And sure enough...

CRASH

Charlie Brown fell hard on the floor, his trunk slid out of the trolley and crushed his foot. He yelled out in pain as passersby merely laughed their heads off.

Charlie Brown sighed while staring at the ground, either the barrier didn't work the same way as he'd expected or, in his imagination much more likely, it had refused to let him through because he was a dud. He wasn't good enough to learn magic, he wasn't good enough to go to Hogwarts. He would have no choice now other than to go home. Oh, why was life so cruel to him, oh why... why was that train red?

Charlie Brown blinked rapidly, his brain did not quite registering what he was seeing. In lue of the plain old trains of platforms nine and ten, there was a large, scarlet train, and in place of the suit-wearing muggles was a whole army of people dressed in cloaks.

Charlie Brown rubbed his eyes thoroughly, taking ten good looks around and punching himself in the face to check he wasn't hallucinating. These were most certainly wizards gathering around the platform, and a train that looked quite like the scarlet steam engine was unheard of. With a feeling of newfound hope, Charlie Brown looked up for the sign that said the name of this platform:

"Platform nine and three quarters.

Hogwarts Express"

Charlie Brown felt like doing the happy dance. He wasn't a reject, he really had made it onto the platform, he just hadn't stopped in time and crashed into another wall! He really was going to Hogwarts!

Charlie Brown lifted the trolley upright and placed his trunk back in it, staring anxiously at the barrier from which he was sure he had emerged. Peppermint Patty was the first of his friends to emerge, when she did she shouted about how amazing the platform was and gave Charlie Brown a friendly punch to the shoulder. He thought he felt a bone click.

Following Peppermint Patty came Lucy, Pigpen, Violet and all the other Peanuts, the Brown parents emerging second to last, holding Sally's hands on the way through, and finally Snoopy and Woodstock had rolled in on Snoopy's wheelbarrow driven doghouse, almost knocking over several other young wizards in the process. Charlie Brown noticed that all his friends had managed to stop gracefully before hitting the next platfrom, unlike him.

"A red train. Cool, it matches my naturally curly hair" Said Freida, everybody rolled their eyes at her pointless comment and started staring around excitedly.

There were a good few hundred school aged witches and wizards boarding the train, all accompanied by family members and variously coloured cats and owls, as well as a few of the other animals on the Hogwarts list. Charlie Brown quickly learned what a puffskein was, a round fluffy creature that Woodstock had attempted to nest on until it's owner slapped him off.

The group were stopped by a wizard in red robes which perfectly matched the scarlet of the train, who demanded their tickets. Richard Brown pulled out nine tickets and handed them to the wizard, who nodded formally before rushing off to attend to what looked like a rampaging rhino down the far end of the platform.

"They sure have a lot of large animals causing a ruckus in the wizarding world, don't they" Schroeder whispered to Charlie Brown, who nodded half heartedly as he stared up at the doors into the train.

This was it, this was the moment Charlie Brown had been anticipating most of all. A part of him was excited to finally be getting on the train to Hogwarts. But that part of Charlie Brown was infinitely overshadowed by the part that felt miserable over leaving his family. He noticed his friends step back a short distance, probably realising the Brown family would want some time alone.

His breathing heavier than it was during those rare occasions he'd tried to approach the little red haired girl, and given up instantly, Charlie Brown turned to face his parents and sister.

Charlie Brown thought desperately for something to say to them, but his panicked state prevented him from doing much more than splutter "I... um, w-w-well, I g-g-guess... I-er-"

Charlie Brown felt like slapping himself, he was expecting his friends to start laughing, but miraculously none of them did. And while Sally looked somewhat exhasperated at her brothers inability to speak intelligibly, Richard and Charlotte Brown smiled at him with kind understanding.

"Feeling nervous about leaving home, aren't you son" Richard said softly, Charlie Brown nodded meekly, to which Charlotte wrapped him in loving embrace.

"Oh sweetie, it's ok. I know how you feel, it breaks my heart to see you go. But try to be strong, it's not like this is really goodbye, after all, you'll be home for the holidays sooner than you know it" Charlotte whispered into her adoptive son's ear, and despite the optomistic tone in her voice the tears leaking down the back of Charlie Brown's neck said summer vacation couldn't come soon enough for her.

"I don't want to go. I want to stay home with you. With all of you" Charlie Brown said, unable to hold in his own tears any longer. He felt Charlotte's grip tighten and Richard Brown's hand pat his shoulder.

"Listen, I know it's a scary thought, but you can't miss out on this. You have a wonderful opportunity here, to learn magic. I understand you're worried about leaving home, anyone would be, but this is all a part of life. And as your mother said, you'll still see us again. And we'll write to you as much as we can, I promise. We don't want to see you go, I admit I've dreaded this day for ten years now, but I also don't want to see you miss out on what may be the best experience of your life. It's not really goodbye, understand?" Richard said.

"I guess... I'm still going to miss you though" Charlie Brown sighed.

"I know" Richard said sadly, Charlotte released their son and allowed Richard a chance to hug him.

"We love you Charlie, and no matter where you are, we'll always be with you. In here" Charlotte said, placing a hand over Charlie Brown's heart. She knew it sounded cheesy, but she just had to say it. Charlie Brown hugged both his parents at the same time, putting every ounce of love he could muster into it. He still didn't want to go, but it warmed his heart to know just how much his parents cared about him. And they were right, he'd be home soon. He'd still see them again, they were his parents weren't they. And despite his worries, Charlie Brown was beyond happy to know he was truly loved.

Most of the Peanuts were fighting to hold back tears, and even Violet and Lucy had trouble keeping a straight face. It was just so sweet, and just so sad.

"You're the greatest parents in the world, you know that?" Charlie Brown asked after the hug ended, Charlotte burst into a wave of joyous tears and even as he was comforting her Richard failed to hold back a few of his own.

While there were still plenty of things that could be said, Charlie Brown decided he should focus his attentions on Sally before he did anything else.

"I'm going to miss you Sally, please take care of yourself" Charlie Brown said, holding his arms out to embrace her. Sally slapped them down and held out a single hand, which Charlie Brown shook, feeling neglected.

"Yeah, I guess I'll miss you too big brother. Just try to stay alive out there" Sally said nonchelantly. Charlie Brown smiled at her and made to turn back to his parents, but he was held back because Sally wouldn't let go of his hand.

"You ok Sally?" Charlie Brown asked, Sally shrugged.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be" Sally said coolly, though still not letting go of her brothers hand. Not sure what else to do Charlie Brown attempted to pull his hand free from Sally's, but even when he did manage to slip free from her grip Sally grabbed his hand again. Charlie Brown gave her a quizzical look, and noticed her lip quivvering.

"Um, Sally...?" Charlie Brown asked concerned, Sally abruptly burst into tears and wrapped him in a death hug.

"DON'T LEAVE ME! Big brother, please don't go!" Sally wailed, crying a river of tears that flowed down Charlie Brown's back.

Charlie Brown was momentarily shellshocked by his sister's outburst, but gradually returned the hug and allowed Sally to drench his clothes as she let out all her anguish. He couldn't help it, he cried too.

Richard Brown smiled at his children and began lifting Charlie Brown's trunk and Snoopy's doghouse onto the train. Snoopy and Woodstock were too busy wiping their eyes and blowing their noses to notice.

"You're going to write to me, right. You're not going to buy a house in the woods somewhere and I'll never see you again, will you?" Sally asked fearfully.

"Of course not, and I'll write every day, I promise" Charlie Brown replied sincerely, Sally squeezed him affectionately.

"I'll miss you big brother, I'm going to miss you so much" Sally weeped.

"I'll miss you too" Charlie Brown said, smiling at his sister as he wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Aww, isn't that sweet?" Peppermint Patty asked, most of her friends nodded.

"Don't worry Sally, It'll be alright. Besides, now you'll have my little brother all to yourself for nearly a year" Lucy said slyly, Sally's face perked up immediately.

"You're right! Just me and my sweet babboo, every hour of every day" Sally said giddily. Charlie Brown could just hear Linus's frightened screaming, he was in for a rough school year.

While Charlie Brown exchanged a few more kind words with his family, the rest of the Peanuts gang pulled the trunks with all their stuff onto the train, they were so heavy it took two or three kids to lift one trunk.

"Hmm... I think this train's supposed to leave at eleven thirty, so you've all got five minutes to find a compartment" Richard said after checking his watch.

"Goodbye mom, goodbye dad" Charlie Brown said while giving his parents one last hug, when they were done Sally latched onto him and squeezed all the air out of his lungs "Goodbye Sally"

Mr and Mrs Brown managed to pry Sally off her brother and allowed him to follow his friends into the train. Violet and Patty were quick to depart from the group and took the first compartment available, Lucy dragged a VERY reluctant Schroeder along to join them. To avoid any trouble with Crookshanks, Pigpen also split apart from Charlie Brown's entourage, and defying all manner of logic he managed to convince Freida to share a compartment with him. After finding most of the remaining compartments on the train to be full, Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty and Marcie managed to find one all to themselves.

"Although maybe we could have done with better seats" Peppermint Patty commented as a spring popped out of her seat and sent her crashing into the ceiling.

Charlie Brown stowed his and the girls trunks away under the seats and placed Snoopy's doghouse into the centre of the compartment, Snoopy was wearing his flying ace helmet again and tapping his foot impatiently at Woodstock, who was pretending to fix the doghouse plane.

_"Come on machanic, the Red Baron's not going to defeat himself you know!"_

_"IIIII IIIIIIII IIII!"_

_"I had no idea Woodstock had such a colourful vocabulary"_ Snoopy thought, somewhat disturbed by whatever Woodstock had said.

Charlie Brown felt the train beginning to move, he looked out desperately through the window and just about managed to spot his family in the crowds. Charlie Brown waved goodbye to them as the train started to pick up speed, and they all waved back. Sally actually started running down the platform to keep sight of her brother before the train pulled out of the station. Charlie Brown stared longingly back at King's Cross station, to where his family were. Despite what was said, Charlie Brown still felt miserable about having to leave them all behind, almost so much that he wished he wasn't going to Hogwarts at all. It was a good ten minutes after the train station had disappeared from plain sight, replaced by the appearance of the lush countryside, that Charlie Brown tore his gaze away from the window.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright Charles?" Marcie asked, concerned.

"I guess" Charlie Brown muttered unenthusiastically.

Sensing his remorse, Peppermint Patty patted Charlie Brown on the back and said "Hey, don't worry about it. Like They said, you'll see them again real soon. Heck, you might even be back for Christmas. So lighten up Chuck, get excited! The day's finally here, we're going to Hogwarts!"

It was strange beyond reason to see Peppermint Patty so excited about going to school, and for that Charlie Brown gave her a quizzical look. Noticing the expectant look on her face he tried his best to look merry and said, somewhat feebly "Yeah, it's going to be great, isn't it" Charlie Brown was taken aback by the stern look Patty gave him.

"Your problem Chuck, is that you overthink everything. You think the rest of us aren't sad and frightened about leaving our families, didn't you see Lucille clinging onto that tree, you had to help pull her off it. But there's no reason to be so darn miserable about it! Just think, this is what we've all been waiting a year for, we get to learn how to turn rocks into cakes and make good luck potions and all sorts of other cool stuff. So don't go acting all wishy washy on me now Chuck, just stop worrying over everything and enjoy yourself. Be happy!" Peppermint Patty commanded.

This was actually one of Peppermint Patty's more tendure lectures, she was often a lot more forceful and demanding. And Charlie Brown had to admit, she did have a good point. A couple really. Why wouldn't he be home for Christmas, he wasn't the only person miserable about leaving, everyone else was handling it well, and this was something he'd been looking forward too for a while. Maybe he should just try and focus on the here and now, maybe it wouldn't be so bad living away from home for a while. It wasn't much different from going to camp, right. Just a lot of extra months. No big deal.

Charlie Brown heared a great clattering from outside, the door to the compartment slid open and a smiling, dimpled woman poked her head into the compartment.

"Anything off the trolley dears?" The woman asked, pulling the door open a bit wider to reveal a trolley full of treats.

"Come to think of it, I am kinda hungry. But I don't have any money on me" Peppermint Patty said, pulling out her empty pockets and looking disheartened. Marcie pulled out a wallet, but found it to be empty aswell. However, Charlie Brown remembered he had a good-sized sack of gold galleons in his trunk.

"I'll pay for the snacks, do you girls want anything?" Charlie Brown asked.

Peppermint Patty and Marcie nodded and leaned forward to see what was available. Charlie Brown was quite surprised by the selection. Instead of chocolate bars and bags of potato chips, there were Bertie Bott's every-flavour beans, droobles best glowing gum, chocolate frogs, pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes, liqourice wands and a whole host of other weird food stuffs, most of which Charlie Brown had never heard of in his life. Patty licked her lips and demanded Charlie Brown buy three of everything. He couldn't help but comply. It all looked so good.

"I don't suppose Linus would enjoy these, would he?" Charlie Brown asked, referring to the pumpkin pasty he had just taken a bite out of.

"Probably not, you know how obsessed he is over that Great Pumpkin of his" Peppermint Patty rolled her eyes.

"I thought it was a great squash" Marcie said cluelessly, Peppermint Patty rolled her eyes again. Marcie was a genius in many ways, she always got excellent grades and could solve many problems in life... but there were some concepts she just couldn't get her head around, such as the Great Pumpkin and colouring easter eggs. Or eating them, for that matter.

Snoopy and Woodstock managed to sneak away a few of Charlie Brown's sweets, and were now experimenting with Bertie Botts every flavour beans. And they did mean EVERY flavour. While some beans tasted of chocolate and ice cream, Snoopy got a few beans that tasted awfully like spinach, broccoli and cat food. Woodstock's third bean however had been a yummy christmas pudding.

Marcie opened up her first chocolate frog, which despite not being a real frog still hopped out of the wrapping paper and landed on Charlie Brown's head.

"Grab it Chuck!" Peppermint Patty yelled hastily,and before Charlie Brown could even lift his arm he was pushed to the floor by a tackle from the tomboy. The chocolate frog hopped clean out the door "Nice going Chuck, it got away" Charlie Brown sighed dejectedly.

"Hmm... look, they come with cards" Marcie said, pulling a card out of the wrapping paper with an image of an old man with a very long beard.

"Merlin" Peppermint Patty read, looking excited "Wow, kinda like baseball cards, huh"

Marcie turned the card over in her hands, and when she looked at the image again she let out a small gasp.

"He's gone"

"Gone?" Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty said in unison, Marcie held the card so that they could see the blank spot where Merlin the wizard's picture once was.

"Wizards sure do have weird pictures, huh Chuck?" Peppermint Patty commented, and all three gasped again as Merlin strolled back into the picture.

Now curious to see what cards he might get, Charlie Brown grabbed a chocolate frog and tore off the wrapping paper. Of course he forgot the frogs could move and it went straight out the window.

With a small sigh over the loss of his treat, Charlie Brown pulled out the card, which showed another wizard with a long beard and half moon spectacles. Below the image read the name Albus Dumbledore.

"So this is our new principal" Peppermint Patty said thoughtfully, looking over Charlie Brown's shoulder at the card "Looks kinda cool for an old guy"

Charlie Brown watched as Dumbledore's image smiled up at him and turned the card over to read what was on the back.

_"Albus Dumbledore, currently headmaster of Hogwarts._  
><em>Considered by many to be the greatest wizard of modern times, Professor Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Gelert Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel.<br>Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling"_

Charlie Brown turned the card over again, and found that Dumbledore had also vanished from his picture.

"Hey look, Paracelsus" Peppermint Patty said, displaying her first card.

The trio had fun unwrapping the rest of their cards (Charlie Brown's frogs always managed to get away) By the time they were finished Peppermint Patty owned cards for Morgan Le Fay, the druidess Cliodna and Hengist of Woodcroft, Marcie possessed Alberic Grunnion, Herpo the foul and Rowena Ravenclaw, while Charlie Brown collected three more images of Dumbledore.

With a sigh over how he had failed to make a good start on a collection of wizarding cards compared to his luckier friends, Charlie Brown turned his attentions to Bertie Bott's every flavour beans. He'd had to share with Peppermint Patty since Snoopy and Woodstock had already devoured all of his. Predictably, Marcie and Peppermint Patty had gotten all the most delicious flavour beans, like strawberry and angel food cake, while Charlie Brown got stuck with rotten cheese, vomit, pepper, dog spit, coconut, etc.

Charlie Brown was just washing the horrible tastes out of his mouth with pumpkin juice when the door slid open again. This time however it wasn't the woman with the trolley, but three boys around Charlie Brown's age. And the middle one was quite clearly the boy from Madam Malkin's in Diagon Alley, Neil Malfoy, this time sporting a saphire snake ear ring.

"So..." Malfoy began, looking at Charlie Brown with infinetely more interest than he had shown during their last encounter "Is what that walking dirt mound said true. Are you really Charlie Brown?"

Peppermint Patty and Marcie glared at Malfoy for his negative comment on Pigpen, Charlie Brown felt like glaring too and nodded meekly at his question. The two boys at Malfoy's sides exchanged creepy looks, the one on the right was tall and lanky with a nose like Pinocchio and the boy on the left was as short as Thibault, but with the muscle of a silverback gorilla and the face of a bull dog.

"Oh, this is Gareth and this is Bruno" Malfoy waved carelessly, noticing Charlie Brown was staring at his friends "And of course you would already know me. Hard to forget such a perfectly handsome face such as this, isn't it" Malfoy said smugly, Peppermint Patty turned to Marcie and spun a finger around the side of her head, Marcie giggled softly.

"Either of you got a problem with my chizzled face?" Malfoy asked irritably, both girls and Snoopy and Woodstock burst out laughing. Malfoy sneered at them and said to Charlie Brown "You know, it's funny, out of all those hot babes in your group of friends you choose to waste your time with these ugly ducklings"

Peppermint Patty looked outraged at Malfoy's comment while Marcie looked indifferent, Charlie Brown wished he had the guts to speak back to him.

"Personally Neil, I think I'd take an ugly duckling over potato nose there any day" Gareth guffawed. Charlie Brown and the animals had to hold Peppermint Patty back so that she didn't commit murder.

"Same here, though lambcake over there looks kinda nice" Chuckled Bruno in a deep voice. Marcie hit him with her trunk "Augh!"

Malfoy stared curiously at Snoopy, who after Peppermint Patty had finally calmed down was back to sitting on his doghouse, wearing his flying ace helmet and persuing the Red Baron.

"That mutt yours?" Neil Malfoy asked, Snoopy jumped at the degrading nickname and turned to growl at Malfoy. His doghouse suddenly developed several bullet holes and Snoopy flailed around as in his mind his sopwich camel plummeted to earth "What on earth is he up to?"

"He's a World War I flying Ace, soaring through the skies in his never ending mission to combat the German forces and their greatest pilot, the dreaded Red Baron Manfred Von Richthoven" Marcie explained as though it were an off hand comment. Malfoy and his two goons stared blankly at Snoopy before bending over and laughing their heads off.

"That... that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Malfoy called between his nonstop chortling, Snoopy stared angrily at the three boys.

Charlie Brown really wished Malfoy would just go away, he didn't like how this was going at all. So far Peppermint Patty and Marcie had both been ridiculed and Snoopy's favourite fantasy alter ego had been insulted, and it was all because of his presence, and his pathetic inability to stand up to these bullies.

When they had finally stopped laughing Neil Malfoy set his gaze once more on Charlie Brown and said "You know, seeing as how you're such a big name, and how you must have some decent wizarding blood in your veins, I think it's only fair to warn you not to associate yourself with these sorts of people. Hang around with the proper crowd, like us, and you won't come to regret it"

Peppermint Patty looked even more furious than she had been at the potato nose comment and Marcie looked disheartened. Charlie Brown couldn't take it any more and, with all the confidence he could muster, told Malfoy "I think I'll stick to the friends I know and trust, thank you very much"

Patty and Marcie both looked rather proud at Charlie Brown for standing up to Malfoy, and he did too. Malfoy however looked furious.

"I'd watch your tone if I were you Brown. Any more wisecracks like that and you'll meet the same fate as your parents" Malfoy said slowly "Now I'm only going to say this one more time, so listen good. Don't consort with riff raff like that oaf Hagrid, or these mudblood friends of yours"

"What did you say!" Peppermint Patty yelled, leaping to her feet and glaring daggers at Malfoy, who was wearing a smug expression.

"You heard me, mudblood. That's what we call your scummy kind around here" Malfoy replied calmly, Gareth and Bruno chuckled loudly as steam shot out of Peppermint Patty's ears.

"Alright you scum bag, you asked for it!" Peppermint Patty yelled, yanking Charlie Brown to his feet "Alright Chuck, let's you and me give these creeps what's coming to them!"

Charlie Brown thought he must be having a heart attack.

"Me? W-w-why me?" Charlie Brown asked fearfully.

"Because, they insulted you and your friends, he made fun of your dog and because any gentleman would want to aid a young lady in punching these creeps' lights out" Peppermint Patty said reasonably, Charlie Brown didn't agree with her at all.

"I-I-I c-c-can't fi-fight them" Charlie Brown stuttered, staring reproachfully at Bruno flexing his muscles and Gareth cracking his knuckles. Even Neil Malfoy looked like he could punch Charlie Brown out in one blow.

"Sure you can Chuck, just give 'em the ol' one two" Peppermint Patty instructed, punching the air two times to emphasise.

"Sir, I really don't think that's wise" Marcie tried desperately to reason with Patty.

"Hey, we'll have the four of you backing us up" Patty replied calmly. Snoopy and Woodstock whistled innocently while Crookshanks bared his teeth to look threatening.

"Oh, this is rich. A bald kid is gonna fight us, three infinitely stronger, masculant men with his only aid being two weird chicks, a deranged mutt, a cat that looks like it's been slapped in the face with a dozen bricks and God knows what sort of miserable-looking bird that is" Malfoy said coldly "Do you really think you stand a chance Brown?"

Charlie Brown was shaking uncontrollably, staring between Peppermint Patty's furiously encouraging face, to Marcie's worried frown, to Snoopy trying to comfort Woodstock, who didn't like being called a miserable-looking bird.

"Well... maybe if you just left us alone, we wouldn't have to fight" Charlie Brown suggested, the evil grins on Malfoy and friends faces told him they didn't agree.

"Now why would we do that, I've always wanted to see a celebrity get the stuffing kicked out of him" Malfoy said, his voice filled with a nasty sense of pleasure.

_"III IIII IIIII"_

_"I agree, we better break this up quick"_ Snoopy whispered urgently as Peppermint Patty readied her fists and Charlie Brown contemplated writing his will.

"We don't have to do this, there's no need" Charlie Brown tried to plead with his friend.

"Come on Chuck, you gotta learn to stand up for yourself. How are you ever gonna gain any confidence if you don't stand up to jerks like blondy here?" Peppermint Patty said sternly, Charlie Brown sighed miserably, there was just no way to talk her out of this now.

"Well, I think that's enough dawdling. Bruno, take care of him" Neil commanded with utmost malice. Charlie Brown trembled in fear as Bruno readied his punches while Peppermint Patty planned her counterattack. They were both saved a beating however when Crookshanks leaped off his seat and clung himself onto Sullivan's head, which he proceeded to scratch at with his razor sharp claws.

"AAAARRRGGGHH! Get this filthy (You don't want to know what he said) off me!" Bruno cried, trying to yank Crookshanks off his face. Gareth rushed to his aid but was distracted by Woodstock, who was pecking at his ear like a woodpecker. Gareth let out his own cry of frustration and tried swatting the bird away, Peppermint Patty and Marcie both laughed while Neil Malfoy looked humiliated.

"You just can't find good help these days" Malfoy sighed, turning his attentions to Charlie Brown while his accomplises still struggled with their animal attackers "Alright, listen Brown, I don't care much for your ugly friend here, I'm only interested in you. So unless you want to get a good beating, I suggest you start groveling at my feet"

"There's no way he'd do that you pompous swine!" Peppermint Patty yelled, Charlie Brown wouldn't have minded it really, it was better than a punch to the face. Malfoy however looked pleased with her reaction.

"Very well, I'll just have to slug him" Malfoy said, pulling back his arm ready to strike. Charlie Brown covered his face, but was rescued from certain pain when Snoopy ran up, grabbed the bottom of Malfoy's robes in his mouth, dragged him out of the compartment and began swinging him around in the same way he did with Linus and his security blanket. When Snoopy finally let go Malfoy went flying out of site down the corridor, his two goons finally managed to rid themselves of Crookshanks and Woodstock and ran off after him, screaming for their mommys.

"Alright Snoop! You guys sure showed them" Peppermint Patty complimented.

"A terrific rescue monsieur flying ace" Marcie said, suddenly wearing a berret.

"Gosh, thanks Snoopy. I really owe you one" Charlie Brown said with a relieved sigh.

_"That's ok. You can just double my supper tonight and we'll call it even"_ Snoopy thought, turning to face Crookshanks, who had his back to him. Sucking up all his beagle pride Snoopy said _"Hey, cat. As much as I dislike your kind, I gotta admit you handled yourself pretty well back there. The three of us made a good team, didn't we?"_

Crookshanks didn't respond, but he did make a slurping sound. Curious Snoopy crept around the cat and saw several yellow feathers sticking out of his mouth. With a terrified yelp, Snoopy grabbed Woodstock's tailfeathers and pulled the little bird out of Crookshanks's mouth, he was dripping with saliva and looked traumatised.

_"You stupid cat!"_ Snoopy said fiercly, Crookshanks hissed at him and leapt back onto his seat.

Charlie Brown patted Snoopy on the head and sat back down. He couldn't believe how lucky he had just been, he was certain for a moment there that he was going to get pummelled by Malfoy and his thuggish friends, but he had made it out perfectly unscratched thanks to Snoopy. For once in his life, Charlie Brown was glad he didn't just have a normal dog like everybody else.

Peppermint Patty was quick to calm down now that Malfoy was out of the way, and the trio spent the next few hours munching away at the rest of their treats and talking about what awaited them at Hogwarts.

"I think what I'm most curious to study is the art of transfiguration, I'm intrigued by the theology of transforming inanimate objects such as rocks into living, breathing creatures such as hamsters" Said Marcie.

"I just want to know how to turn all my D minuses into actually good grades. A C minus would suffice" Peppermint Patty said with a frown, though she didn't show it she was very sensitive about her poor grades.

"Well I really want to see what their sports are like. What sorta stuff did you say they played Chuck?" Peppermint Patty asked enthusiastically.

"Well, Hagrid did tell me about a game called Quidditch" Charlie Brown replied, trying to remember what Hagrid had said about the sport "They play it on broomsticks, they have a couple of players who take these balls called quaffles and try to score with them, and a keeper who guards the goals for each team. Hagrid said something about seekers and beaters, but I can't remember what they do"

"Do they let us form teams at school?" Peppermint Patty asked hopefully, she was always one to manage the team for practically every sport in existence back home, especially baseball.

"I think they have a team for each of the houses" Charlie Brown answered, to a wide grin from Peppermint Patty. No doubt she'd be trying out for her houses team "My dad, you know, birth dad, was on the Gryffindor team as a chaser... Hagrid said he got hit in the face with the balls a lot"

Apart from Peppermint Patty bombarding Charlie Brown with more questions about quidditch, all of which he failed to answer, and Snoopy suffering five more defeats by the Red Baron, it was a relatively uneventful train ride after that run in with Malfoy. Mostly Charlie Brown and the girls just talked about whatever was on their minds and stared out the window at the countryside, which was growing wilder and wilder to the point Charlie Brown swore he saw a lion and a herd of zebras. Had to be his imagination though, they weren't anywhere near Africa.

The group did receive a few quick visits from Pigpen, who had to leave quickly to get away from Crookshanks, as well as Schroeder, who had tried to escape from Lucy before she tracked him down and dragged him away again. Charlie Brown prayed for his friends soul. There was also a quick visit from a boy named Neville Longbottom, who had apparently lost his pet toad. He didn't stay long however, he left before Peppermint Patty could even offer to help him find the toad.

"Looked as timid as you do Chuck" Peppermint Patty had to say of Neville.

Eventually the sky started to go dark, and when night had clearly fallen a voice began to echo throughout the train "We will be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please change into your school robes and leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately"

"Finally!" Peppermint Patty cheered. Charlie Brown's stomach lurched, he felt very nervous.

Charlie Brown and the girls threw their school robes on over their usual clothes and placed their trunks in the centre of the room with Snoopy's doghouse. Snoopy had at first been reluctant to leave, wanting to continue his adventures as a flying ace, but Marcie eventually managed to convince him to join them by acting as a french lass. Flying Aces couldn't resist a French lass.

"It's about time we finally got here, huh" Lucy commented as Charlie Brown rejoined the rest of the gang, who were all wearing their Hogwarts robes. The Peanuts stuck close together among the large crowd of students marching their way to the exits.

It was absolutely freezing outside, Charlie Brown wished he'd thought to bring a jacket. No one was quite sure what to do before a lantern shone through the darkness, followed by the massive figure of Hagrid.

"Firs'-years, over here. Firs'-years, come with me. Alright there Charlie?" Hagrid asked after spotting the round headed boy. The rest of the group smiled and waved at Hagrid, who grinned appreciatively and called out for more first year students "Alrigh', everyone follow me. Mind yer steps"

Charlie Brown and friends followed after Hagrid, Peppermint Patty keeping a tight hold of Crookshanks so he didn't attack Pigpen again. The students were led down a narrow, winding path. It was so dark Charlie Brown couldn't see a thing past Hagrid's enormous silhouette, he thought there might have been many tall trees on either side of the path but it was impossible to tell for sure. Violet and Patty complained about having to walk around aimlessly in the dark while Neville, the boy who had lost his toad, was whimpering. Charlie Brown guessed he hadn't found his pet yet.

Charlie Brown didn't think they were getting anywhere on this trek, with the night so dark and the path so straightforward they didn't seem to be making any progress. How far away could the school be, Charlie Brown thought that he would never be able to see it in this pitch black night. He was wrong, of course.

At last they reached the end of the path, where they reached a dark lake. And on the hill above it, illuminated by the moonlight, was a large, magnificent castle.

"That's a school? Amazing" Patty said with much enthusiasm. Everyone stared awestruck at Hogwarts, it certainly looked like they would be living in the lap of luxury.

"Boy, did we hit the jackpot" Lucy said, rubbing her hands together greedily. She couldn't wait to brag about her new living quarters to her brothers.

Hagrid led the group to the edge of the black lake, where they found an armada of small boats. Hagrid instructed each of the first years to pair up in threes and take one of the boats to the other side of the lake. Somehow Charlie Brown ended up as the only passenger in Hagrid's extra large boat. He was also the only person to fall in the lake, which happened when he bent over the side of the boat to get a better look at what he thought might have been the silhouette of a mermaid. Luckily Charlie Brown didn't drown, for he was pulled out of the water by an extremely large tentacle, which plopped him down gently in the boat and patted him tenderly on the head before sinking back into the lake. Charlie Brown shiverred from both the cold and fear for the giant creature that had saved him.

Charlie Brown dried himself off in Hagrid's enormous moleskin coat, which Hagrid had wrapped around him like a blanket. He noticed that the boats seemed to be moving on their own accord, magic sure was fascinating when it wasn't used for explosions.

Eventually the boats reached a dark tunnel, which led the students to some kind of underground harbour beneath the school. Finally dry and no longer shiverring like a sunbather in Antarctica, Charlie Brown hopped off the boat onto the rocks and pebbles, being careful not to slip. He did, but that was mainly because he felt something slimy land on his head.

While everyone else laughed at Charlie Brown, who had fallen into the edge of the lake, the round headed boy reached up for the top of his head and grabbed what had fallen on it. A toad.

"Hey Neville, is this your toad?" Charlie Brown asked, pudgy Neville Longbottom clambered forward jovially.

"Trevor!" Neville exclaimed, happily taking the toad back from Charlie Brown. Trevor the toad struggled to get away, but could not escape his owners grip "Thank you so much, I don't know what I'd do if I lost him"

"I know how you feel, I'd be devastated if I lost Snoopy" Replied Charlie Brown, Neville shook his hand and stumbled back towards the group of first years, nearly tripping over himself several times.

Hagrid let Charlie Brown dry himself off once more with his coat and led the children up a passageway in the rock, eventually leading them to a field of damp grass not far from the castle.

"Right, everyone still here? All got yer pets?" Hagrid asked over the crowd, most just nodded in reply. This was good enough for Hagrid, who led them all up a flight of stone steps towards the castle. Hagrid knocked three times on the door, which swung open at once to reveal a tall, black haired witch in emerald green robes.

"Got the firs-years here, professor McGonagall" Hagrid said with a polite bow.

"Thank you Hagrid, and please don't bow. I'll take them from here" The witch replied. She had a very stern face, if he hadn't already known the principal was a man named Dumbledore, Charlie Brown would have mistook her for a strict headmistress. He really hoped he didn't do anything to get on her bad side.

Professor McGonagall led them into the entrance hall, which was so big Charlie Brown's whole house could have fitten in it. The walls were lined with flaming torches and the ceiling could hardly be seen because it was so high. There was also a magnificent marble staircase which led to the upper floors. The doorway on their right seemed to lead to wherever the other students had gathered, due to the amount of chatter that could be heard from it. However, Professor McGonnagal led them past this door to a small chamber off the hall, Charlie Brown was pushed up against the wall due to lack of room for the crowd of students,

"Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" Said McGonagall "Before we can begin the start of term banquet, each of you will be sorted into one of the four houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. The sorting is perhaps the most important ceremony held here at Hogwarts, while you are here your house shall function as your own surrogate family. You will attend classes with your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend your free time in your house common room"

"Each of the houses has it's own noble history, and they have all produced many outstanding wizards and witches. While you are attending Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House cup, a prestigious honour. I should hope that each of you will work hard to be a credit to your chosen house. The sorting will take place in a few minutes, it will be done in front of the school. Please wait patiently, and I shall return when we are ready for you"

And with that all said and done Professor McGonagall left the room, leaving the first years to worry.

"Anyone have any idea how they sort us into houses?" Charlie Brown asked, still stuck up against the wall.

"Got me. Maybe they have us pull a note out of a hat with the house name on it" Suggested Freida.

"Maybe they spin a wheel"

"Maybe they go eeny meeny miney mo"

"Maybe they give us a test"

Charlie Brown gulped at that last suggestion. A test? Good grief, he hoped that wasn't it. He was completely unprepared for a magic test, he hadn't practised any spells and he'd never mixed a potion before, he'd make a mockery of himself. On his first night here, no less. Charlie Brown really hoped it wasn't a test. And did it have to be in front of the whole school!

Charlie Brown was momentarily distracted by the gasps of the other students and Snoopy clinging onto his leg, and when he saw why he gasped too. What looked like no fewer than twenty ghosts had just floated through the wall and where drifting through the room, seemingly deep in argument and hardly glancing at the stunned first years.

"That bu###r has no dignity, I refuse to allow him to disrupt the feast!"

"Come now good Baron, I say we ought to give Peeves a chance. Forgive and forget, I always say. Just give him one chance" Pleaded the ghost of a short, fat monk.

"My dear Friar, how many chances have we given him already? Hundreds, perhaps thousands, and he never learns. Can't see food without picking it up and throwing it half-way across the room. Besides, it's not as if Peeves must attend, he's not even a real ghost-though he gives us all a bad name none-the-less" Responded a ghost wearing a ruff and tights. He was the first to take notice of the students, and looked rather uncertainly at them "I say, what are all you doing here?"

Charlie Brown simply remained silent, though he'd already seen a ghost once before it still felt rather frightening having so many hovering above him. He noticed that no-one else in the room seemed quite up to answering the ruffed ghost, but the Fat Friar smiled euthorically.

"New students!" The fat Friar announced mirthfully, most of the ghosts looked just as ecstatic and one of them even attempted to straighten their wispy hair.

"Ah, I suppose you're all about to be sorted then?" Said a proud and haughty looking female witch. Nobody uttered a word, though a few of the bravest students nodded.

"Excellent, I was afraid we'd missed the sorting again. Hope to see you in my house" Said the Fat Friar jovially. He took a good long look at each of the students before resting his eyes on Charlie Brown. The Friar gave him a curious look and whispered something to the other ghosts. Now they were all giving him curious looks, much to Charlie Brown's dismay.

Several of the twenty something ghosts began whispering to each other and one ghost, who had previously been referred to as the Baron, tore away from the group to float directly in front of Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown supposed this must have been the Bloody Baron Hagrid had talked about in Diagon Alley, and now that he saw him Charlie Brown could see why he was called that. Adding to his already gaunt and menacing appearance were many silver blood stains across his front. Charlie Brown shiverred, blood on a ghost?

"You... look familiar" The Baron said in a dreary voice that sent shivers down Charlie Brown's spine. The Baron scared Charlie Brown even more by leaning in close to his face and asking "Who are you?"

"My good Baron, might I politely ask that you back off. I think you're frightening the poor boy, like you have done with so many of us" The ghost in the ruff spoke up, Charlie Brown shot him a grateful look, but the Baron caught his eye again before looking upwards at his forhead.

"Hmm... no, no I must be mistaken" The Baron concluded. Charlie Brown sighed, he guessed that the Baron had been looking for his scar but couldn't see it under his thin hair, which he couldn't move away to get a better look.

"Bullying the new students again Baron, you know we've talked about this" Came the voice of professor McGonagall, who had just re-entered the room.

"Not quite Minerva, just trying to identify a potential Slytherin" Replied the Baron, who shot Charlie Brown a nasty look before rejoinging the other ghosts "Far too cowardly. Perfect choice for Hufflepuff, wouldn't you say Friar?"

"I would certainly enjoy having him in my house" Replied the Fat Friar, who didn't seem to identify the negative meaning in the Baron's words.

"Well, I suppose we've dawdled for long enough now. We'll see you all in the hall, I'll be waiting at the Gryffindor table" Said the ruff ghost, who led the other ghosts out of the chamber. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and several of Charlie Brown's friends shot him anxious looks. He hoped he'd never have to talk to that ghost again, he was terrifying.

"Now, everyone form a line outside the great hall" Professor McGonagall instructed. The first years left the room and did as they were told, Charlie Brown was positioned behind Schroeder and in front of Peppermint Patty, with Snoopy and Woodstock standing to his right. The double doors creaked open and they entered into the hall.

It was a remarkrable sight to behold, easily as big as the entrance hall if not bigger the Great Hall had four long tables where the older students were already seated and was lit by a thousand floating candles. There was another long table at the top of the hall, where the teachers and staff were sitting. Charlie Brown could easily make out Hagrid's enormous figure, and thought he might have seen Louis McDuff sitting next to him. The most amazing aspect of this hall however had to be the ceiling, or was it a ceiling? It looked velvety black and was dotted with twinkling stars, exactly like the sky outside.

Charlie Brown and the other first years lined up near the doorway while professor McGonagall walked up towards the staff table, and on a stool before it she placed a pointy wizards hat which she had extracted from her robes. The hat looked many generations old, and was heavily patched and frayed, and almost as dirty as Pigpen's overalls.

There was no doubt in Charlie Brown's mind that this hat had a part to play in the sorting, what that was however, he didn't know. Seeing how it was placed down on a stool Charlie Brown doubted Freida's suggestion of pulling their houses names from the hat was true. Maybe they were expected to pull a rabbit out of it, that seemed like the sort of thing wizards would do. Charlie Brown gulped, could he do that? Did he need his wand for this, only now did he realise that he had foolishly left it in his trunk.

The mystery of the hat was revealed at last when a wide rip much like a mouth opened up near it's brim, and the hat broke out in song:

_"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_if you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folks use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The whole hall burst into thunderous applause for the hat, Charlie Brown included. The hat bowed to each of the four tables in turn before the rip repaired itself and the hat grew still once more.

Charlie Brown felt relieved. So all they had to do was put on the hat, and it would decide their house before them. He supposed that was rather obvious, he felt rather embarassed for not realising sooner. Charlie Brown did wish they didn't have to try it on in front of the whole school though, wouldn't it have been better to do it in private?

"So that's it, we just have to try on a hat!" Charlie Brown heard a girl say furiously further back in the line "Ooh, when I get my hands on Fred... he was going on about wrestling a troll!"

Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted" McGonagall announced to the first years, she held the parchment to her nose and called the first person on the list "Abercrombie, Morag"

A round faced girl with long pigtails stumbled out of the line, though initially nervous she trotted along up to the stool and allowed professor McGonagall to place the hat down on her head, or rather over it as the hat was a size too big. The hat sat atop Morag's head for a moment before:

"HUFFLEPUFF" Roared the hat. The table on the right cheered as Morag Abercrombie joined them, the Fat Friar was first to pat her on the back. She looked shocked.

Charlie Brown gulped, the names were being called in Alphabetical order. He'd hoped he would be among the last to get sorted, he didn't want to have to deal with the pressure of being one of the first to be sorted. It probably wouldn't have felt very good to prolongue the moment either, but still, at this moment he just wished he didn't have to do it at all. What if he was put in Slytherin! What if all his friends got into good houses and he was stuck in the house that spawned so many dark wizards. He didn't want to turn out like that! And what if the hat didn't call out anything, what if he was declared a reject and sent back home. And he wouldn't even have time to properly worry about it either, because any second now she was going to call out-

"Brown, Charlie" Professor McGonagalls voice echoed. There was a hush quite like that in the Leaky Cauldron. A thousand eyes swam over the line of newcomers, all searching determindly for the boy that had been called. No doubt they were all thinking, _Charlie Brown, could it really be._

Charlie Brown felt like he'd just been court martialled, he stood frozen in fear among his friends, painfully aware of all the students who had so far identified him and were gawking in his direction. Maybe if he just stood here, he wouldn't have to do it. Maybe if he stood here they'd just pick a random house for him to stay in and he could sneak off to that house table without anybody noticing, not sit up in front of the whole school. Oh, who was he kidding. Of course that wasn't going to work.

"Don't just stand there Chuck, get up there" Peppermint Patty said, pushing Charlie Brown forward, so that he was in clear sight for everyone in the massive hall.

Charlie Brown hesitated for a short while, his friends whispering irratably for him to hurry up and get sorted, and eventually he gathered up all his courage and forced himself to move.

It felt like he was walking down deaths row. He tried to ignore the fact that everyone was looking at him expectantly, but that was far easier said than done. The excited chatter didn't help elevate his mood. Charlie Brown heard several bits of eagerly whispered conversation between the students. Some asked if it was really THE Charlie Brown, some expressing hope that he would be placed in their house and sit next to them, and of course most of them asked "Why is he bald?" If his arms weren't glued to his sides he would have patted his head insecurely.

It felt like an eternity before Charlie Brown reached the stool on which he was meant to sit, and when he did he just stood stiffly in front of it, too scared to continue.

"Please sit down" Professor McGonagall requested, Charlie Brown just stood terrified until she said in a piercingly sharp voice "Now!"

Not wanting to invoke the wraph of a school teacher on his first day, especially not one that could cast curses and hexes on him, Charlie Brown reluctantly complied and plopped himself down on the stool. He watched anxiously as the deputy headmistress lifted the sorting hat and slowly placed it down on his head. The last thing Charlie Brown saw before the hat drooped over his eyes was the hall full of students craning their necks to get a good look at him.

_"Hmm... difficult"_

Charlie Brown jumped, looking back and forth for the source of the voice, before remembering he couldn't see anything but the inside of the hat. The voice felt like it had been spoken right into his ear, and Charlie Brown realised it must have been the hat.

_"Very difficult. Not much for confidence, not surprising with all those failures. But you don't quit, do you. Even with the odds stacked against you, you still always try your best to succeed, never give up. That's true courage right there"_ Mused the sonorous voice of the sorting hat _"Not exceptionally clever, but you do have your moments. There's talent in you-oh my goodness yes, and a burning desire to prove yourself, to be hailed and cheered. Interesting..."_

Charlie Brown breathed heavily, not quite sure what to think of all this. He didn't really feel brave, if anything he was an utter coward. His never giving up was merely stubbornness, he knew it. But he had to agree he wasn't all that smart, Charlie Brown guessed Ravenclaw was out of the picture. And talent? Ok, he was sure the hat was having him on with that one.

_"Still doubting yourself, I see"_ The hat whispered, sensing Charlie Brown's insecurity _"Yes, you're a particularly interesting boy. But where to put you?"_

Charlie Brown clutched the edge of the stool. Whatever happened, Charlie Brown thought, no matter what decision the hat was about to make, whether it be to put him in Hufflepuff or send him straight back home on the train, he would be alright as long as he wasn't placed in Slytherin.

_"Not Slyherin eh?"_ The hat whispered _"Are you sure? You would do very well in Slytherin"_

Charlie Brown's heart hit his stomach, he nearly screamed out in panic as he desperately thought _"NOT SLYTHERIN, NOT SLYTHERIN!"_

_"Think carefully now, mr Brown. This is your last chance. You could be one of the greats, Slytherin would help you achieve so much. Don't you want to be the hero for a change?"_

_"NOT SLYTHERIN, NOT SLYTHERIN, PLEASE OH LORD NOT SLYTHERIN!"_ Charlie Brown cried mentally. The voice of the hat did not return for a long while, it seemed to be deep within it's own thoughts, contemplating it's next course of action.

_"Very well..."_ The voice said after what must have been an eternity _"If you're absolutely sure, then it better be..._ GRYFFINDOR!"

The hat had shouted that last word for the entire hall to hear. There was an explosion of cheers from the Gryffindor house table, Charlie Brown felt the hat being lifted off his head and saw the hall return, saw the cheering Gryffindors, heard some red haired twins chant joyously "We got Brown! We got Brown!" and saw the disappointed faces worn by members of the other three houses.

Charlie Brown was absolutely speechless. Gryffindor, he had been placed in Gryffindor and not Slytherin. While he felt the house of bravery didn't seem right for his meek old self, he honestly didn't care! He was just so darn happy he hadn't been placed in Slytherin that nothing else mattered.

"Wait to go Charlie!" Hagrid and Louis Mcduff cheered together from the staff table, giving each other a high five. Louis flew straight across the hall.

"Good to have you in my house, mr Brown" Professor McGonnagal said nicely, Charlie Brown smiled appreciatively so she knew just how much that meant to him and hopped down to reach his table. He looked back to the line of first years to see his friends reactions, it warmed his hearts to see that most of them were cheering for him aswell.

"Wait to go Chuck! You got in the best house!" Peppermint Patty called ecstatically over to him, behind her Marcie was clapping faster and louder than anyone else.

Charlie Brown grinned at all his friends, giving his widest smirk to Violet, Patty and Lucy, who all wore shocked expressions, obviously they wouldn't have thought in a million years that Charlie Brown would be sorted into the house of bravery. Neither did he, but he wasn't comlaining as he took a seat next to a bespeccled boy and a red haired prefect.

"A pleasure to have you join us Charlie Brown" Said the prefect, shaking Charlie Brown's hand proudly. Charlie Brown shook back and felt someone patting him on the shoulder, it turned out to be the glasses boy.

"Hey Charlie, I'm Harry, Harry Potter" The boy introduced himself "You probably don't remember me, and honestly I don't remember you, but our parents were old friends. My mum says we were playmates once as babies"

"Really?" Charlie Brown said, pleasantly surprised by this news.

"Yeah. Long time ago, I know, but it's a pleasure to see you again" Harry said, extending the hand of friendship to Charlie Brown. The round headed boy was more than happy to accept it, and then he felt a huge electric shock pulse through his body that made him topple off his seat.

Harry Potter and the two people sitting next to him had a good laugh at this, but when Harry noticed the dejected look on Charlie Brown's face he quickly said "Don't take that the wrong way, just a friendly joke! I pull the joy buzzer on everyone I meet, it's nothing personal. I hope we can be good friends"

Still feeling dizzy from the electric shock Charlie Brown accepted Harry's other hand, and the bespeccled boy helped him back up to his seat.

Charlie Brown eventually shook off the dizziness, only to be met with a blinding flash of light. After blinking a few time his vision returned, he saw that the light had been caused by a camera held by a small, nervously excited looking boy.

"Hi Charlie, I'm Colin Creevy. I've just been sorted into Gryffindor too. I've heard so much about you from people on the train, it's great to meet you" The small boy introduced himself, holding his shaky hand out anxiously. Charlie Brown stared at him in confusion for a moment before cautiously bringing his hand up to shake Colin's, but the young photographer was too nervous and pulled it back. He backed away slowly and took a seat behind a bushy haired girl, never once taking his wide eyes off Charlie Brown.

"You'd better get used to that mate, a lot of folks around here are just as loony" Joked the red haired boy sitting between Harry and the bushy haired girl, who then offered his hand to Charlie Brown. After checking he didn't have a joybuzzer Charlie Brown shook it cautiously "I'm Ron Weasley, by the way"

"Hermione Granger, very pleased to meet you Charlie" The bushy haired girl said kindly, Charlie Brown blushed as she shook his hand, he wasn't used to pretty girls expressing pleasure to meet him.

Charlie Brown gave one more nervous glance to Colin Creevy, who blinded him once more with the flash from his camera, and turned towards the stool where students were being sorted.

The first of Charlie Brown's friends to be called forward was Schroeder, as his last name was Evans. The piano prodogy smiled weakly at Charlie Brown as he passed and sat down comfortably on the stool. The hat was only on his head two seconds before it's voice boomed "RAVENCLAW!"

The students at the Ravenclaw table cheered for their newest addition as Schroeder had the sorting hat pulled off his head and joined them. Charlie Brown waved at his pal and yelled "Congratulations" Charlie Brown had sort of anticipated Schroeder would end up in Ravenclaw, as Hagrid had declared it the house that valued intelligence. Schroeder was fairly smart at school work of course, but he was an outright genius when it came to music, quite an obvious candidate for Ravenclaw house.

Professor McGonnagal called out the names of two other first years before calling "Gray, Violet"

With as smug a look as she could muster Violet marched up to the stool with her nose in the air and sat down in a dignified position. Charlie Brown knew she was doing all that to make sure everybody knew she was a popular girl back home and that she demanded to be treated as such here.

The sorting hat flopped down over Violet's eyes, as opposed to Schroeder the hat took a while to decide where she would end up. It was as Charlie Brown was checking his watch for the third time that the hat declared her a "HUFFLEPUFF"

Charlie Brown thought Violet looked rather conflicted about her placement. He supposed on the one hand she realised she'd been placed in a house that everyone had expected Charlie Brown to be placed into because it was for the less interesting students. But then again, she had also gotten her wish of not being in Slytherin or Charlie Brown's house. Typically, when Charlie Brown waved to her as a sign of good faith, Violet responded by throwing him her trademark "Nyah"

"And, is she supposed to be a friend of yours?" Ron asked oddly.

"Yes. Sort of" Charlie Brown replied, not quite sure how to explain his and Violet's complex relationship.

Charlie Brown missed the name of the next student, who was sorted into Slytherin, but he payed close attention when Mcgonnagal called for "Johnson, Marcie"

Marcie eagerly stepped forward to be sorted, as she passed by Charlie Brown she whispered "Wish me luck Charles" And Charlie Brown assured her he would. Marcie's sorting took even longer than Violet's, Charlie Brown had a feeling the hat was feeling very conflicted about where Marcie should end up. It should have been obvious really, she was very smart, she should clearly be in Ravnclaw. But could the hat be seeing more of her than just her intelligent side. Charlie Brown knew she was a loyal friend, so where would that lead her.

Here's where it led her to: "GRYFFINDOR"

Charlie Brown eagerly joined into the applause as Marcie made her way to sit down next to him, the red haired prefect politely offering her his seat.

"Congratulations Marcie" Charlie Brown told the bespeccled girl.

"Thanks Charles. The hat really didn't know if I shoud be in Gryffindor, it wanted to put me in Ravenclaw at first, but it said I was really brave and extremely loyal. And, honestly, I think I prefer this house" Marcie explained.

Ah, Charlie Brown thought, it was her choice. Just like how he asked not to be in Slytherin, Marcie must have asked to be in Gryffindor rather than Ravenclaw. Why, he hadn't a clue.

Immediately following Marcie's sorting professor McGonnagal called on "Jones, Freida"

Charlie Brown and Marcie both whispered encouragement to Freida as she skipped confidently to the stool.

"Um, is there anyway to be sorted without wearing that hat. I don't really wear hats, I wouldn't want to mess up my naturally curly hair" Freida said while patting her curls proudly. Professor McGonnagal gave her an odd look and plonked the hat onto her head before Freida could say another word.

A few moments passed, the rest of the Peanuts stared up expectantly at Freida, and they all jumped back a bit as the hat boomed "RAVENCLAW"

"WHAT? That airhead!" Charlie Brown heard Lucy scream, she looked furious when Charlie Brown looked over in her direction. Charlie Brown thought he knew why, Freida and Lucy typically did get along and would talk about girl things on the baseball field (Instead of playing their parts like Charlie Brown wanted them too) But there was one thing they shared that caused tension between the two, a crush on Schroeder.

Several times Lucy had come across Freida lounging on Schroeder's piano before she arrived there. The first time this had happened Lucy (With encouragement from Snoopy) Had actually attacked Freida, and though they were usually more civil since then Lucy was always suspiscious that Freida was trying to pull something off behind her back.

"I think I know what house Lucy wants to be in" Marcie commented as Freida sat down next to Schroeder at the Ravenclaw table.

"What do you think the odds are she'll be placed in Ravenclaw as well?" Charlie Brown asked.

"Well, um..." Marcie mumbled, ultimately she was too polite to answer that.

Charlie Brown himself was a little surprised that Freida had been sorted into Ravenclaw, he'd never had the impression that she was exceptionally smart like Marcie or Linus. But then again, he didn't know how she did at school. Come to think of it, he didn't really know a lot about Freida's personality other than she loved hunting rabbits and that she could be a real chatterbox when she wanted to be. Oh, and there was her love of her naturally curly hair, of course. He supposed she could be smarter than people gave her credit for.

Professor Mcgonnagal called on a couple more newcomers Charlie Brown hadn't met yet. Freida and Schroeder looked to be starting up a one sided conversation with the next Ravenclaw to be sorted, a girl with dirty blond hair named Luna Lovegood who was staring dreamily into space.

"Malfoy, Neil!"

Neil Malfoy walked confidently up to professor McGonnagal, making sure to bump his elbow hard against Charlie Brown's head as he did so, and sat down on the stool. Charlie Brown was sure he knew what the outcome would be, and sure enough, the instant the hat landed on Malfoy's head it screamed "SLYTHERIN!"

Neil Malfoy punched his fist into the air, made a rude "In your face" Style gesture in Charlie Brown's direction and triumphantly joined the cheering Slytherin's. Charlie Brown didn't mind, he felt he was the real lucky one to end up in Gryffindor, even if he was now feeling concerned that he wasn't brave enough to deserve a place in said house.

Three Hufflepuffs, two Slytherin's and Neville Longbottom's sorting into Gryffindor later, professor McGonnagal paused and held the list of names closer to her face so that it touched her nose. After cleaning her glasses and taking a good long look at the list to make sure she'd read right, she called "Pigpen?"

Pigpen happily exited from the line of newcomers and strolled between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, apart from his friends every student gasped and tucked themselves as close in to their table as possible. Pigpen didn't seem to mind their fear of his filth and hopped up happily in front of professor McGonnagal, who herself looked highly distrubed at the sight of him.

"Don't you think it would have been prudent to clean up a bit before arrival?" Professor McGonagallasked sternly.

"I did, I took three baths this morning and showered once on the train before I got dressed in my then clean robes" Pigpen replied sincerely.

"Oh dear" Professor McGonagall said softly.

The mood in the hall felt rather ominous as the hat slid down Pigpen's face. Charlie Brown noticed that all the students within his line of sight had their fingers crossed, as if to express hope that Pigpen would not be put in their house. He saw that Violet had crossed all eight of her fingers and also her thumbs for added effect.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

There was a collective groan from most of the Gryffindor students, and sighs of relief from the other houses. Charlie Brown and Marcie joined in the applause for their friend, they were among the few Gryffindor's who did, most of the clapping was being done by students in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff while the Slytherin's were laughing for Gryffindor's misfortune.

Violet clapped louder and shouted more cheers than anybody else, Pigpen smiled in her direction. Luckily he didn't see her high fiving the students on either side of her, she was just relieved she wouldn't be stuck in the same house as the dust magnet.

"It's good to have you in our house Pigpen" Charlie Brown said as Pigpen took a seat between him and Marcie. Most of the Gryffindor's sitting nearby backed away, and even Ron was about to get up and move before Hermione pushed him back down, though even she looked a tad repulsed at Pigpen's dirtiness.

"Nice to meet you Pigpen, put 'er there" Harry said, holding his right hand out to Pigpen, who smartly shook Harry's wrist instead "How'd you know?"

"I've had the ol' joy buzzer pulled on me before, it's the only time anybody actually offers to shake my hand" Pigpen replied, staring at his muddy hand as though wondering why.

"Um, not to sound rude, I certainly don't mean to offend you, but-I just have to know, why are you so filthy?" Hermione couldn't keep herself from asking.

"I've often pondered the meaning behind my dust magnetism. I've been thinking it has to do with my magic, but then again, maybe I'm just gifted" Pigpen suggested. Hermione didn't seem to share those sentiments, but had the decency to not comment on it.

Following Pigpen's sorting came a few more wizards that Charlie Brown didn't know, and then "Reichard, Patricia!"

Peppermint Patty was barely able to contain her excitement and practically sprinted up to the stool to be sorted. Charlie Brown felt his fingers cross as professor McGonnagal raised the hat above Peppermint Patty's head and released her grip. She was another quick sorting, the hat hardly seemed to have touched her head before shouting "GRYFFINDOR"

Charlie Brown clapped harder than anyone else in the room, he and Marcie moved back a little bit to allow Peppermint Patty to sit between them.

"Congratulations sir" Said Marcie, Harry Ron and Hermione stared curiously at her.

"Stop calling me sir" Peppermint Patty groaned for the millionth time "Boy, isn't this great Chuck. I just knew you, Marcie and I would be in the same house. Oh, and Pigpen. Who would have thought we'd all end up in Gryffindor though?"

Charlie Brown couldn't speak at all for himself, but he knew pretty much from the start that Peppermint Patty would be in Gryffindor. She was the bravest, strongest, most outspoken person he knew, as well as a diehard friend. It wasn't much of a surprise that the hat had put her here. Charlie Brown felt even better knowing he was in the house of bravery since it meant having Peppermint Patty by his side as they started their education in wizardry.

Peppermint Patty enthusiastically introduced herself to Harry, Ron and Hermione and, as Crookshanks appeared to curl up on her lap, she asked "By the way Chuck, where's Snoopy?"

Charlie Brown's eyes widened in surprise, he stared back to the now tiny line of first years only to find that Snoopy and Woodstock weren't there anymore.

'Oh no' Charlie Brown thought, worried about what sort of mischief the duo were getting up too.

"Is that dog wearing sunglasses?" Hermione asked, and when Charlie Brown stared imploringly at her she gestured over to the Ravenclaw table. And sure enough there was Snoopy, or rather his college student alter ego "Joe Cool" Flirting with several pretty girls. Charlie Brown felt extremely inferior seeing that most of the girls looked pleased and giggly when Snoopy kissed their hands, probably thinking up a good pick up line. He went a bit too far though when, in his excitement, he kissed Freida on the lips. Freida gagged and grabbed Snoopy by the collar to drag him over to Charlie Brown.

"Charlie Brown, why can't you teach Snoopy to act like a proper beagle. He should be out chasing rabbits, not kissing human girls. Especially not me!" Freida said, irritated but not nearly as outraged as Lucy would have been.

"If I knew how to make Snoopy a regular dog I would have done it years ago" Charlie Brown replied honestly. Freida rolled her eyes, congratulated each of her friends on their sorting and returned to sit with Luna Lovegood and Schroeder, who was staring at the blond girl as though she were a mental patient.

"This is one strange beagle you've got here Charlie" Harry commented as Snoopy climbed up on his head and imitated a vulture.

"Yeah, Snoopy can be strange, but we all love him" Pigpen said kindly, he was then pushed off his chair by Crookshanks, who attempted to rip Scabbers out of his pockets "Can't say the same for every pet I know!"

Charlie Brown, Harry and Peppermint Patty all helped to pull Crookshanks off of Pigpen, a difficult task but they got it done. Peppermint Patty gave Crookshanks a quick scolding for his attack, but couldn't stay mad at him for long and was soon hugging him again.

Woodstock soon arrived at the table and joined Snoopy in a game of poker while Charlie Brown and friends watched the sorting of Patty Roberts.

Patty's sorting took exactly the same amount of time as Violet's, which was followed by the same shout of "HUFFLEPUFF!" The only real difference between her sorting is that when Charlie Brown waved at her in congratulations, she didn't "Nyah" him, and while she didn't give much reaction she did seem to throw him a small smile.

Now that both Patty's were sorted, the only remaining member of the Peanuts gang not to be sorted was Lucy. Charlie Brown watched the next half a dozen students being sorted, never really paying close attention to their names, until he heard professor McGonnagal call "Van Pelt, Lucy"

Lucy stormed up to the stool, gave Schroeder a flirtatious smile that made him shudder, and sat down determindly as McGonnagal dropped the hat down on her head.

Lucy's sorting was perhaps the longest out of every other first year student. Charlie Brown himself hadn't the slightest clue where Lucy would end up, a part of him was worried she would wind up in Slytherin, which for several reasons she was a great candidate for. But still, he tried to assure himself, Lucy wasn't that bad, was she? Sure, she scammed him out of hundreds of nickels with her bad psychiatry, she tortured her brother Linus daily, she had destroyed Schroeder's piano on more than one occasion, she got a pleasure from out-insulting Violet, she was always making derisive comments about Charlie Brown, she... good grief, Slytherin was all but assured.

Fifteen minutes after the hat had been placed on Lucy's head, Charlie Brown and friends were all at the edge of their seats. Snoopy and Woodstock had cut their poker game short to stare hopefully up at Lucy, and Crookshanks was even ignoring Scabbers as the two looked up curiously at her.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

There were many claps and cheers from the Gryffindor students, and sighs of relief from Charlie Brown and the gang. Lucy however looked furious at her placement.

"But I wanted to be in Ravenclaw!" Lucy complained, glaring at Freida, who looked away nervously, and Schroeder, who looked immensly relieved "Can't I be transferred?"

"I'm afraid it doesn't work that way miss Van Pelt, now please take your seat" Professor McGonnagal said sternly, Lucy was about to argue but McGonnagal's piercing stare made her think twice. With a sigh of defeat she trudged over to the Gryffindor table and pushed Pigpen aside so that she was sitting next to Charlie Brown.

"This isn't fair, I'm smart aren't I! I'm a qualified Psychiatrist for crying out loud, how can I not be in Ravenclaw? This is an outrage!" Lucy complained to Charlie Brown.

"Well... what did the hat say?" Charlie Brown asked reluctantly.

"It said I was a perfect candidate to Slytherin, but that it couldn't put me there for political reasons, so Gryffindor was my next best option" Lucy said furiously "It didn't even consider what a genius I am!"

"Well you've got to admit, you're much better off here than in Voldemort's house" Harry pointed out. Ron and Hermione both jumped at the mention of the name, but Harry seemed pretty confident using it.

Lucy frowned "Yeah, I guess. But I'd still rather be in Ravenclaw" She muttered, turning to Charlie Brown and the others "If either of you see Freida make so much as a small compliment to Schroeder I want to know about it, and there's no reason why you shouldn't tell me about it. Capiche?"

"Capiche" The group muttered, Charlie Brown and Pigpen half heartedly. Lucy grumbled and leaned against the table.

_"Don't worry sweetie, it's not all that bad. You've still got us"_ Snoopy thought, giving Lucy a quick smooch.

"AUGH! I've been kissed by a dog! I have dog germs! Get hot water! Get some disinfectant! Get some iodine!" Lucy screamed in terror, Harry and Ron rolled over in laughter.

_"Why does she always say that?"_ Snoopy thought miserably. Woodstock giggled under his breath.

The last student to be sorted was "Weasley, Ginerva!" Who became a Gryffindor also.

"Knew you'd make it Ginny" Harry said enthusiastically, moving over a little so Ginny could sit in between him and Ron.

Charlie Brown blushed, with that long red hair and her last name Ginny was quite obviously Ron's sister, and she was beautiful. Almost as much as the little red haired girl. And Charlie Brown's face only got redder when she stared admiringly at him and giggled uncontrollably. Harry looked annoyed for some reason.

With all the new students sorted Albus Dumbledore stood up, opened his arms wide and beamed at all the students, as though nothing in the world could have made him happier than to see them all there.

"Welcome all, to another new year at Hogwarts. It bring me great pleasure to see each of your smiling faces, I wish you all the best" Dumbledore said with the air of a loving grandfather "Now, before we begin the start of term feast there are a few words I would like to say. And here they are..."

Dumbledore cleared his throat, Charlie Brown craned his neck to get the best possible look at the headmaster, listening intently.

"Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you"

Charlie Brown sat back down, looking very uncertain. Most of the students at the table were laughing, Peppermint Patty and Lucy included, and Charlie Brown wasn't sure whether he should join them in doing so.

"Is he mad?" Marcie asked uncertainly.

"He's a genius, he's the most skilled wizard in the world" Hermione said defensively, but then she meekly admitted "But yes, he is a bit mad"

"Mad as a hatter, but we like that about him" Ron supplied with a snort.

Charlie Brown watched as Dumbledore sat back down in his chair at the centre of the staff table and nearly fell back in his own seat when he turned back to the table. What were once just empty dishes were now filled with all kinds of delicious looking foods, french fries, roast beef and roast chicken, sausages, bacon and eggs, all different kinds of potatoes, yorkshire puddings, pork chops and a whole bunch of delicacies he didn't recognise, all of them yummy looking.

"I think that's our cue to chow down" Said Peppermint Patty. Snoopy cheered and happy danced all around the table, filling a plate with every dish he could get his paws on.

Only now realising how hungry he was, Charlie Brown filled his own plate with whatever he could get his hands on. Unfortunately the other ravenous students quickly scooped up many of the most delicious delicacies within his reach, but he still had a pretty nice meal in front of him.

Everybody chowed down enthusiastically, Snoopy had offered to share some of his meal with Woodstock but the bird chose to share some of Marcie's yorkshire puddings, to make sure anyone watching got the impression he was her pet. To make this illusion look good Marcie patted Woodstock on the head and gave him several "Good boy" Compliments, Woodstock seemed to love the affection.

The ghost in the ruff Charlie Brown had seen earlier floated down in front of the group, staring longingly at their plates full of food "That does look good"

"Can't you..." Charlie Brown began, but stopped akwardly.

"Afraid not, I haven't eaten for over five hundred years now... it's a nightmare, I tell you" The ghost said miserably. Charlie Brown felt guilty, but the ghost's woes seemed to vanish almost instantly as he cheerfully added "I don't believe I've introduced myself. Sir Nicholas De Mimsy Propington, Resident ghost of Gryffindor tower at your service"

"Hey, I heard someone talk about you on the train" Pigpen piped up "But they called you nearly headless Nick"

"I prefer sir Nicholas, if you don't mind" The ghost of sir Nicholas said stiffly.

"Nearly headless? How can you be nearly headless?" Lucy asked, bewildered. Sir Nicholas gave a low sigh.

"Like this" Sir Nicholas said lazily, he grabbed his left ear and tugged hard. The result was that his head fell onto his shoulder, hanging there as though it were on a hinge.

The five Peanuts all gasped at this slightly gruesome sight, and Snoopy had actually lost his appetite. Sir Nicholas seemed pleased by their reactions and flipped his head back into place.

"So, you're all new Gryffindor's. Pleased to meet you all, I just know you'll do your part to help us win the house championship this year. I can't remember the last time gryffindor went so long without winning. Seven years Slytherin have taken the cup, seven years. The Bloody Baron's the Slytherin ghost, and he's becoming more pompous by the minute" Sir Nicholas complained.

Charlie Brown glanced over at the Slytherin table, the Bloody Baron had taken up a seat next to Neil Malfoy and a boy who looked a lot like him. Neither of them looked pleased with this seating arrangement.

"How'd he get all that blood on him?" Asked Peppermint Patty.

"I've never asked... and frankly I'm not sure I want to know" Nick replied delicately.

Already feeling full, Charlie Brown finished his meal and pushed his plate aside. Since they all had some free time the Peanuts all began conversations with their fellow Gryffindor's.

"So let me get this straight, you've got five older brothers and one younger sister" Lucy said to Ron, who nodded. Lucy frowned "I pity you, it's hard enough putting up with two little brothers, if I had five I think I'd jump off a cliff. But man, what I wouldn't give for a little sister..."

"So Harry, your parents and mine were friends?" Charlie Brown asked the bespeccled boy.

"Yeah, that's what they told me. They're in a lot of our old family photos, and half mum and dad's wedding pictures. You should have seen this one where your dad fell over and the punch bowl landed on him" Harry chortled, along with everyone else within earshot "Mum says we would have practically grown up together if they hadn't... you know. She said they'd even asked Dumbledore if they could adopt you and your sister, but Dumbledore wouldn't have none of that"

"Are both your parents magic?" Charlie Brown asked curiously.

"Well, yes. But I'm only half blood because my mum's muggle born" Harry replied. Charlie Brown fantasised for a moment what it would have been like if he'd grown up in a wizarding family "Funny enough, I have a muggle aunt and uncle just like you"

"Really?" Charlie Brown and Harry bothed laughed at the amazing coincidence.

"Yeah, so I suppose it could have just as easily been me who lost his parents and took out Voldemort. I'm glad it's not me though, I've never met my aunt and uncle but for everything I've heard about them... well, let's just say I'd die before I live with them" Harry replied less pleasantly.

"My dad was a milkman, he never had any idea how I could do so many strange things, like turn his car into a lunchbox. I'm really glad to be here" Colin Creevey piped up, eager to join in on the chatter. He gave Charlie Brown and friends a toothy grin and blinded them with another flash from his camera.

"So how about you Neville? What's your family like?" Peppermint Patty asked, wide eyed and looking in the opposite direction from Neville due to the flash.

"Well, I live with my gran, and she's a witch" Neville said, looking reluctant to join in the conversation "My whole family are wizards, but they used to think I was a muggle. I never showed signs I was otherwise. It wasn't until I was eight that it started for me. My great uncle Angie was always trying to catch me off guard and scare some magic out of me you see, and one day he was dangling me out an upstairs window by my ankles, but he let go by mistake"

Marcie and Hermione clapped a hand to their mouthes, while Charlie Brown stared wide eyed at Neville.

"I was alright though, when I hit the ground I just sort of-bounced. I bounced all the way onto the road, not even a scratch. You should have seen the look on grans face when I told her, she was so happy she cried. And you should have seen it when I got my Hogwarts letter, my whole family threw a party. They never thought I'd be magic enough to go-neither did I" Neville said, his cheeks turning a bit pink. Trevor the toad leaped out of his pocket and tried making a break for it, but Neville managed to grab him back by the leg.

"That's how I got Trevor too, great uncle Algie gave him to be as a gift just before I left home" Neville told the gang, Trevor let out an audible sigh.

Once everyone had finished with their dinners the food vanished from the dishes, replaced by a whole range of yummy deserts like chocolate pudding, treacle tart, jam donuts, jelly and many more. Charlie Brown decided not to have any more, with all the food he had already eaten he felt it might make him throw up.

It was a nightmare watching everyone else enjoy the deserts though, so Charlie Brown instead turned his attention to the staff table. Hagrid was drinking deeply from an oversized goblet, Louis McDuff was sitting next to him, still looking dizzy from his flight across the hall. Professor McGonagall was talking to professor Dumbledore with a serious expression, which was not shared by the jovial headmaster. Charlie Brown also saw professor Quirrel, now sporting a purple turban, talking to a man with greasy black hair, a hooked nose and a sallow face.

"Augh!" Charlie Brown winced, clutching his forehead with one hand. It had happened suddenly, the black haired man had just looked past Quirrel's turban to stare resentfully into Charlie Brown's eyes, and the next second a burning pain had erupted from the lightning bolt scar.

"Chuck, what's wrong!" Asked a concerned Peppermint Patty, the rest of the group were also staring worriedly at Charlie Brown.

"I... um, it's nothing" Charlie Brown replied, not wanting to worry anyone. Nobody was convinced.

"Charlie Brown, we know you better than that. Now what's up?" Lucy asked sternly. Charlie Brown contemplated his answer, how was he supposed to explain that his scar had been burning?

Harry gave Charlie Brown a thoughtful look and glanced over to where he had been staring. A look of realization spread across his face.

"Oh, you were just looking at professor Snape, weren't you?" Harry asked.

"Who?"

"Professor Snape, otherwise known as the worlds biggest git teacher. Yeah, he scares everyone. That's what was wrong with you" Harry said knowingly. Charlie Brown sent another cautious look in professor Snape's direction. He didn't look at Charlie Brown again, instead he was talking in a hushed voice to Quirrel, who looked very nervous.

Charlie Brown doubted Harry's suggestion, sure Snape's cold glare had been frightening, but that alone shouldn't have caused his scar to burn the way it did. But he decided to go along with it anyway so his friends didn't further question him, he thought he'd rather discuss it with them somewhere more private.

"So what does professor Snape teach us?" Asked Pigpen, staring cautiously at the two professors.

"Potions" Said Ron "But everyone knows it's Defense Against the Dark Arts he really fancies, he's been after Quirrel's job for years. Bet he's real sore he didn't get it again this year. You better watch out for him, he's head of Slytherin house, and he loves any excuse to bully people from other houses"

The rest of the Peanuts sent one last cautious glance at Snape and turned back to their puddings. Soon after the deserts disappeared from the table, and professor Dumbledore stood once more before the students.

"Ahem" Dumbledore cleared his throat and the hall fell silent "Now that we are all properly fed and watered, there are a few start-of-term notices I must give you. First of all, our new students should note that the forest on the school grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students might want to remember that as well"

Dumbledore's glittering eyes flashed in the direction of the red haired twins and then, Charlie Brown was sure, to Harry and Ron. The guilty looks on their faces proved this true.

"Secondly, our caretaker mr Filch has asked me, once again, to remind you that no magic must be used between the classes and the corridors. Mrs Norris here will be keeping an eye out for any such thing, I'm sure" Dumbledore added that last part as an afterthought, because a grey, unpleasant looking cat had just hopped up on the table next to him. Charlie Brown saw Snoopy's previously cheerful face fall into a frown.

"As for Quidditch trials, they shall be held during the second week of term. Any student wishing to play for their house should please contact Madam Hooch" Dumbedore continued, gesturing to a gray haired witch a few seats away from his. Peppermint Patty grinned widely, no doubt she would be the first to try out for the Gryffindor team.

"And finally, all students should note that the third floor corridor on the right hand side is now out of bounds to anyone who does not wish to suffer a most painful death" Dumbledore concluded. The five Peanuts laughed, but the rest of the table remained deathly silent.

"He's joking about the die part, right?" Charlie Brown asked semi-cautiously. Hermione shrugged.

"I don't think so" Hermione said thoughtfully "It's strange, normally if we're not allowed to go somewhere he gives us a reason, everyone knows the forest is full of beasts and all, but I've never noticed anything dangerous about the third floor corridor. Who knows..."

This did perk Charlie Brown's interest, but he decided to shake it off. If he wasn't allowed to go to the third floor corridor he wouldn't go there, and he wouldn't ask why.

"And now" Dumbledore called suddenly "I believe it is time we all enjoyed a good nights sleep. Prefects, please escort your houses to the dormitories. Goodnight all"

Only now realising how tired he was now, Charlie Brown was happy to comply as the red haired prefect called for the first years to gather around.

"Everyone just follow me to the house common room" The prefect instructed, giving a small smile to Ginny Weasley "And I must write to mum, she'll be delighted to know you got into Gryffindor, Ginny. I know I'm proud of you"

"Thanks Percy" Ginny said pleasantly. Charlie Brown stared admiringly at her long, flowing red hair for a moment, but when Ginny looked his way he snapped his head in the other direction, blushing.

After convincing Snoopy to stop licking the plates and follow him, Charlie Brown set off with the rest of Gryffindor house out of the hall and up the marble staircase. Charlie Brown made sure to wave to Violet and Patty as the Hufflepuff's disappeared around one corner and did the same for Schroeder and Freida as the Ravenclaw's vanished. He didn't look twice at the Slytherin's, he was sure Neil Malfoy would be glaring at him right now.

In his tired state Charlie Brown hardly realised where he was going, he was just following the crowd. He was too tired even to notice how all the people in the portraits they passed seemed to be alive in their frames. Higher and higher they climbed up the grand stairs, until finally they entered through a corridor and stopped just outside the portrait of a very large woman in a pink silk dress.

"Password?" She asked. This time Charlie Brown fully realised how alive the portrait was and fell on his back in surprise, prompting several chuckles from his classmates.

"Fortuna Magor" Replied Percy the Prefect, and the fat ladies portrait swung forward, revealing a large hole in the wall quite like a doorway. There were a few gasps of surprise from the first years as Percy prodded them through the hole.

The Gryffindor common room was large and circular, with plenty of comfortable looking armchairs and beanbags scattered throughout and a lovely, roaring fire in the grate. Sally would have loved this cozy room.

"Ok, on your rights" Percy indicated a wooden door at the right hand side of the common room "You will find the door to the boys dormitories. And on your left" Percy gestured to the left door "You will find the entrance to the girls dormitories. Now, normally you would be allowed to relax here in the common room for a while, but as it's the first day of term and it's getting late, and because I need to be rested so I can be in top prefect form tomorrow, I advise you all go to bed now. Remember, boys to the right, girls to the left"

"Well, see ya in the morning Chuck. Gonna be kinda weird, seeing you just after I wake up. Goodnight" Peppermint Patty waved.

"Goodnight Charles, pleasant dreams" Said Marcie.

"Yeah, goodnight and whatever" Lucy said, disinterested.

"Good night girls, see you tomorrow" Charlie Brown and Pigpen said in unison before heading off to their own dormitory's with Snoop and Woodstock in tow. They were quickly stopped by Percy however.

"Pardon me Charlie Brown but, are both those animals yours?" Percy asked strictly, Charlie Brown began to sweat.

"Um... no, just Snoopy. Woodstock is Marcie's bird" Charlie Brown said as calmly as possible, Woodstock smiled widely and nodded vigorously. Percy raised an eyebrow at the small yellow bird.

"Really, because it looked like he was heading off with you" Percy said suspisciously. Woodstock gave Snoopy and Charlie Brown a nervous look and hopped down off Snoopy's shoulder to follow Marcie, waving goodbye as Marcie led him through the door into the girls dormitory.

_"Lucky bird, he gets to hang around all night with the ladies" Snoopy thought jealously, then fearfully added "I hope that stupid cat get doesn't get at him"_

And so, with all else said and done Charlie Brown climbed the stairs into the first year boys dormitory. There were five beds set up, one for Charlie Brown, another for Pigpen, a bed for Neville, one for Colin Creevey (Who flashed his camera at Charlie Brown thrice more) and another boy Charlie Brown hadn't really payed attention to earlier. Charlie Brown tried politely to introduce himself to the fifth boy, but was so tired that he ended up collapsing on his bed, completely forgetting about his pyjamas.

Charlie Brown was pretty sure he'd gotten the lumpiest, most uncomfortable bed in the entire dormitory. He thought he'd better try and straighten the matress out a bit, but could hardly find the strength to do so. He notcied that his trunk and Snoopy's doghouse lay at the side of the bed, the fantasy loving beagle hopped up on the roof of his doghouse and nodded off fast. Charlie Brown just didn't see how Snoopy could sleep on the roof all the time, it had to be far less comfortable than this bed and there were three bedrooms inside it, each with a king sized bed that was as soft as anything. Yep, Snoopy was a strange dog, but Charlie Brown was glad to have him here.

This sure had been an eventful day, Charlie Brown still couldn't quite get his head around everything that had happened. He still couldn't understand why, of all houses, he had been sorted into Gryffindor. He'd thought Hufflepuff seemed a much more likely choice for him, but no, here he was in the house of courage and chivalry. It seemed odd, Charlie Brown just couldn't see how he was brave in any way. But hey, he couldn't complain, it was a million times better than being in Slytherin.

Charlie Brown also thought back to his family, had they gotten home safely? They were probably home in bed right now, Sally probably complaining about how school would soon start for her aswell. Boy, how Charlie Brown was going to miss that. He would miss everything about his family. He decided that one of the first things he would try and do tomorrow, after lessons, would be to ask Hagrid how he was going to write letters to them.

But there was still one thing that bothered Charlie Brown. When he had first looked at professor Snape, why had his scar burned like that? Right now his scar felt like it had never even prickled, but he could still remember the sharp pain in his head. He'd never experienced anything like that before, and it worried him that he had just done so now. What had caused the pain in his scar, and did it really have to do with this professor Snape. Or was there another reason for it, a much darker reason? That was all the worrying Charlie Brown had time for tonight however as he drifted off into sleep, which was plagued by the nightmare with the flashing green light.

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><p><strong>Tiger Lover 16: And... done. Phew, ok that ending bugs me, I just don't feel I ended this chapter in the right way. I feel there's so much more I should have done with this chapter, but I got all the most important bits out of the way. I might have made a few mistakes, scratch that I'm sure I did, but I'm not sure how to fix them right now, if you notice anything off please tell me. Now, I want to explain a few things in this chapter. First off, Gareth and Bruno. While I know those names aren't nearly as creative or catchy as Crabbe and Goyle, I named them after bullies I once knew similar to how I name Neil Malfoy. I had trouble coming up with names for them, so those were the ones I went with. To be honest I'm not satisfied, but I thought Crabbe and Goyle would still be Draco's friends so I didn't want to bring them down a year. I did make Neville a year younger, mostly because I always enjoyed his character and didn't want to create an OC to fill his shoes. We'll meet that fifth Gryffindor next chapter. And Colin Creevey, I always liked him, he was annoying but funny. Most likely he'll function mainly as a joke character though until the sequel. And now, most importantly, the houses. Ok, Charlie Brown in Gryffindor. Well, I know he's not usually the bravest little boy in the world, but as the hat said, he never gives up, even though he knows the odds are against him. And besides, how else is he gonna kill the basilisk in the next story if he can't pull Gryffindor's sword out of the hat? Peppermint Patty I think was an obvious choice for Gryffindor, and Marcie... well, I admit I flirted with the idea of putting her in Ravenclaw, but ultimately I put her in Gryffindor. I justify that she is a very loyal friend, and that it could very well have been her choice. Pigpen I know doesn't seem at first like the Gryffindor type, but I didn't think I could put him in Ravenclaw, and he does prove a contrast to Charlie Brown in that he can handle being insulted, he's perfectly unneffected by critisism, so he's gotta have some bravery. Plus I wanted Charlie Brown to have at least one room mate he was familiar with. Patty and Violet were some of the easiest to decide for, while I know Hufflepuff's are generally the hard working and loyal types, which Patty and Violet seem to be neither, it is also described as taking "The rest" of the students left over from the other houses, and since Schulz considered the characters as just straight women lacking the ability to carry out too many creative ideas, I thought they would classify as such. Schroeder was also an easy choice, I figured Ravenclaw was perfect for that piano prodegy. Freida I know has never seemed smart, but for this story I've decided to take a few liberties with her character, which will become apparent in later chapters, to help add to the story. And I thought, a lot of Ravenclaw's are described as being attractive, and Freida's always going on about how nice her naturally curly hair is, so yeah, I suppose it sorta works. As for Lucy... I will admit, I toyed for the briefest moment to make her a Slytherin, but ultimately I decided I couldn't do that. For one Slytherin's are obsessed with blood purity, and since Lucy's muggleborn it wouldn't be fair to place her among such racist jerks. And besides, I don't think Lucy's really all that selfish, she's cunning and ambitious and she can be spiteful, but I think there's plenty of good in her really deep down. And I hardly ever see her get truly scared, so gryffindor seemed appropriate. I'll admit, there are several things about this chapter I would like to do better, in fact I might go back and edit this before I release the next chapter just to be sure. I don't know when the next chapter will be up, but I'll try not to be too long. Ok, that's all for now, thank you for reading and please review to tell me your thoughts.<strong>


	6. It's your first day, Charlie Brown

**Tiger** **lover 16: Well, here I am again with chapter five. With this chapter I wanted to focus specifically on the gang's first day at Hogwarts, as opposed to the first week as in the Harry Potter book. I'm hoping to set up a few things for the rest of the story in this chapter, mainly to do with character introductions. I want to say that much of this chapter is still adapted from the book. But hey, it's still the same Hogwarts, and all the same Harry Potter characters. I will make a few changes, most notably with Harry Potter himself. As you saw in the last chapter Harry's more of a jokester, like his dad. I'm quite certain this is how he would have turned out if raised by his parents and not the Dursleys. He'll still be a lot like himself though, for example he wouldn't cast hexes on people in the halls to show off and probably won't suspend Malfoy in the air and show off his underpants to everyone, like his father James. But he'll still be more eccentric and jokey. There were a few characters I'm worried about writing for though, in case I completely screw them up. Luna Lovegood's the prime example of this. I wanted Luna to be a friend of the Peanuts since I love her character, and since she's in their year I didn't want to just hush her into the background until fifth year. However, I'm not used to writing for her kind of character. Rowling's portrayal of Luna in the book was excellent and funny, but I'm not sure I can handle her brand of crazy. Hopefully I won't mess up too badly. Also, I'm pleased to see that at least some of you fell for my little trick. Ginny as the new little red haired girl, no, that's not gonna be the case. I thought about it but decided, maybe that wouldn't work. I think it's in Charlie Brown's nature to pine for the girl he stands little or no chance with, and Ginny's always interested in "The boy who lived" And since Ron will be friendly with the Peanuts, it just wouldn't work as well. Glad I managed to trick you though. I will probably find a new unrequited love for Charlie Brown, but you'll have to keep reading to find out if that's true. I don't think this chapters up to standards, it feels pretty rushed, but I'll leave that for you to decide, forgive me if it's not that good. Anyway, that's all for this Author's notes, please enjoy the chapter. Oh, and since I didn't mention it before, I don't own Peanuts or any of the characters.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: It's your first day, Charlie Brown<strong>

Charlie Brown sat at the Gryffindor table, enjoying his breakfast of bacon and eggs. Well, he ate it, but it wasn't easy to enjoy eating anything when you had the entire Great Hall staring at you with wide eyes.

"Charlie Brown, I can't believe it" One of the Ravenclaw's whispered excitedly to the girl sitting next to him.

"I know" The girl whispered back through a fit of giggles.

"I think if you look closely enough, you can just about see his scar" Said one of the nearby Gryffindor's, staring determindly at Charlie Brown's forehead. Knowing he and his friends weren't likely to stop gawking at him until he did so, Charlie Brown reluctantly brushed his white blond hair aside to show them the lightning bolt scar. The group of Gryffindor's gasped eagerly and broke into excited chattering amongst themselves.

"I wish everybody would stop staring at me" Charlie Brown sighed to his friends.

"I don't see what's so wrong with being the most popular kid in school, if it were me I'd be basking in their reverance of me" Lucy said boastfully, Pigpen snorted into his goblet of pumpkin juice.

Charlie Brown sighed at his many onlookers and tried to bolt down his breakfast. As strange as it sounded, Lucy was right. For this moment at least, he was probably the most popular student in all of Hogwarts. It was a stark contrast from life back home, where most people couldn't be bothered to talk to him. Sure, there were plenty of kids he had gotten to know besides his friends, but most of them just became increasingly indifferent to him, or downright hated him. In fact, by the start of the last school term before his arrival at Hogwarts, Charlie Brown's popularity had reached such a low point that almost every student in his school would refuse to let him sit with them on the bus or in the lunch hall. But now, at Hogwarts, everyone was anxious to meet him, but for the moment too nervous to approach him. They all thought Charlie Brown was the most interesting person they'd ever laid eyes on.

It felt weird, weirder than the existence of the kite eating tree and weirder than the time Linus's security blanket had come to life and attacked Lucy. And Charlie Brown still felt that his fame wasn't properly earned, the more he thought about how he could have banished the evil Lord Voldemort, the more ludicrous the idea sounded to him. He just couldn't understand how he could have accomplished such a feat, and it felt wrong to be receiving so much praise for something he didn't even remember doing. But still... deep down, Charlie Brown couldn't help but think... it was rather nice that people liked him here, and didn't just see him as a wishy washy, social outcast.

"Is this normal?" Pigpen asked, pointing upwards. Charlie Brown almost fell out of his seat in surprise, about a hundred owls had just swooped into the hall and were circling the tables.

"Doesn't get more normal than the moring post" Ron commented.

The owls continued circling the tables while hooting merrily, when one of them spotted their owner they swooped down to deliver a letter or package. Charlie Brown's eyes wandered over to the Slytherin table, where a trio of eagle owls had just delivered many boxes of sweets and hair jel to Neil Malfoy, who threw him a superior look.

Charlie Brown looked away from Malfoy gobbling down some chocolate frogs and was immediately met with an owl crashing into his face and knocking him off his chair.

"Oh good grief" Ron muttered, grabbing the owl off Charlie Brown's head by the leg and plopping him down on the table. "Sorry about that mate" He said while helping Charlie Brown up.

Charlie Brown rubbed his aching face and took a good look at the owl. Though it had given him quite the shock just now, Charlie Brown couldn't help but feel sympathy for the bird. It looked very, very old and weak and was breathing heavily.

"Is he alright?" Peppermint Patty asked, she and the other girls were staring in concern at the poor owl.

"Oh, about as fit as he normally is" Ron replied, looking embarassed as the owl stood up feebly and started hopping around in a daze "Errol's getting way too old to deliver letters, we'd get another owl to deliver the post but... well... we're broke"

Ron gently pulled the letter Errol was carrying out of his beak, but the old owl still looked like it had been yanked forward and fell on it's face. Even Lucy looked sympatherically at it.

While Ron opened his letter from home, another owl flew down and landed gracefully before Harry. This owl was snowy white, had bright yellow eyes and was in infinetly better shape than Errol.

"Thanks Hedwig" Harry said, offering the snowy owl a few of his cornflakes while he read his own letter from home "By the way Hedwig, do you think you could help Errol fly back to the Burrow? I don't think he could survive the trip back by himself" Hedwig rolled her eyes at Errol, who she appeared all too familiar with, and nodded at her owner before picking the exhausted owl up in her talons and flying off out the window.

"Why's everything you own so much better than what I've got?" Ron asked jealously, Harry shrugged playfully.

Charlie Brown ducked as another owl swooped right over his head and landed before Hermione. This was not her own owl, but one of the owl's used to deliver the daily prophet. Hermione took the newspaper and dropped a few knuts into it's pouch. The owl flew off, looking grumpy over Hermione's inability to provide a tip.

"It's not like I'm a mouse breeder" Hermione commented to the owl's grumpyness. She took a good look at the front page and sighed "Still not having any luck finding the culprit"

"What culprit?" Asked Lucy curiously.

"Didn't you hear, someone broke into Gringotts" Hermione said, passing the newspaper over to Charlie Brown so he could show his friends.

The front page showed an image of several Gringotts goblins, one of which appeared to be Griphook, standing outside a vault, with the headline reading "Gringotts Break-In Latest"

"Wait, someone actually tried to rob Gringotts?" Peppermint Patty asked, looking very surprised by this news. Why shouldn't she have been, from the attitude of the goblins and the defences placed on at least some of the highest security vaults, as well as the fact that they were located a few miles beneath London, breaking into Gringotts seemed like a rather foolhardy thing to do.

"What did they want?" Asked Lucy, for a moment everyone glanced at Charlie Brown.

"Read it" Harry instructed. Lucy snatched the newspaper out of Charlie Brown's hands and began reading it aloud to the group.

_"Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 14 August, widely believed to be the work of dark wizards or witches unknown._

_Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied that very same day._

_"But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you" Said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon"_

Charlie Brown and friends stared at Lucy in shock as she finished reading the news article.

"It's been two and a half weeks, and that's still making headlines" Said Harry, not noticing the Peanuts' shocked expression because they had their backs to him "Gringotts has never had a break-in before, so it's big news. But it's being blown out of proportion a bit, happens every time there's a magor incident. People assume it's because Voldemort's come back"

Ron and Hermione winced at the use of the name, despite Harry's relaxed use of it. Charlie Brown however felt his insides turn to ice.

"That's the same day we were in Diagon Alley" Charlie Brown pointed out "And Hagrid emptied a vault that day, right?"

"You don't think..." Pigpen came to a halt, the gang exchanged grim looks. It hardly needed saying that vault number seven hundred and thirteen was indeed the vault mentioned in the newspaper.

"Wait, what vault? What was in it?" Harry asked.

"He wouldn't tell us. He just said it was Hogwarts business" Marcie replied, Harry raised a curious eyebrow.

"Must have known somebody was trying to steal it. Lucky you got to it first" Ron said seriously.

Charlie Brown read the news article one more time. Voldemort's doing or not, this had to be the work of a very powerful witch or wizard. And to think, on the very same day as they had arrived in Diagon Alley... if they'd been just a day later, or the would-be thief had made his move sooner, even a few hours before they had done so, the package in that vault would have been taken. Charlie Brown had forgotten about the whole thing up until now, but he found himself wondering once again: What had been inside that vault? And what importance did it serve that someone would break into Gringotts, the second safest place in the world to hide something, to steal it?

Nobody said another word on the subject, Charlie Brown merely handed the newspaper back to Hermione and allowed her to read the rest of it. It was silently agreed between the Peanuts that they would ask Hagrid about this whole incident the first chance they got, but that they would do so very delicately.

Charlie Brown watched as each of the owls made their deliveries and flew off out the same window as Hedwig, some of the clumsy ones crashing against an open window before quickly correcting themselves. Charlie Brown wondered how Hagrid was going to help him and the others send messages home, America was an awful long way for an owl to travel. He'd have to find out as soon as possible, he'd promised Sally he'd write daily.

"So, where do we have to go for lessons?" Asked Peppermint Patty eagerly, completely overcoming the shock over the Gringotts break-in.

"You'll find out in a moment, professor McGonagall's just coming around with the time tables" Answered Hermione.

Charlie Brown noticed professor McGonagall strolling down their side of the Gryffindor table, handing out two different stacks of parchment.

"These are your timetables, if you have any trouble tracking down your classrooms then sir Nicholas will be much obliged to show you the way" Professor McGonagall explained as she handed the timetables out to Charlie Brown and friends "And these" She added, placing one of the other slips of parchment in front of Charlie Brown "Are the forms you will need to sign should you choose to study the optional subject of Magical Technology"

Professor McGonagall stood waiting for Charlie Brown's response to this form. With his mind having already been made up days ago, Charlie Brown signed his name at the bottom of the form without reading it through properly. Professor McGonagall looked surprised that Charlie Brown had actually agreed to take the subject, and seemed even more bemused when Marcie, Peppermint Patty and Pigpen signed their forms too.

"Well, I'm sure Louis will be pleased. He already has twice as many students as last year" Professor McGonagall mused before continuing down the Gryffindor table.

"Not taking technology, Lucy?" Asked Marcie.

"No, I'd rather not be mauled by a nundu" Lucy said sarcastically.

"You and everybody else in this school" Said Harry, and to the curious stares of the peanuts he elaborated "His classes have had hardly any students since the incident with the nundu a few years ago. Most people were curious about the subject at first, but after seeing just how dangerous Louis's inventions were most people became too scared to take them"

"He's great though" Ron supplied "Barmy maybe, but he's a riot at parties. And some of the stuff he makes is pretty cool. He's just not the sort of bloke most sane people would want teaching them"

"So what does that make us?" Charlie Brown questioned, as though on cue Woodstock flew by making a noise that sounded an awful lot like "Cuckoo, cuckoo"

Charlie Brown stared curiously after Woodstock, and with a feeling of dread he wondered where Snoopy might be at that moment. A hand clasped onto his shoulder, and Charlie Brown nervously stared up into the face of professor McGonagall, which was splattered with whipped cream.

"Mr Brown, would this by any chance be your dog?" McGonagall asked sternly, holding Snoopy up by the collar. The mischievous beagle's coat was covered in all kinds of food, and he was grinning nervously at his owner.

"Yes ma'am" Charlie Brown sighed.

"It may interest you to know that your dog just instigated a food fight over at the Slytherin table. As this is your first day, and as you cannot be held entirely responsible for your dog's actions, you will not receive punishment. But I do advise that, in the future, you consider keeping him on a leash" Professor McGonagall said, dropping the messy Snoopy down on the table.

"Bleah" Snoopy muttered when McGonagall was out of ear shot. Snoopy didn't like leashes much, he was a free spirit, and wearing a leash made him feel too confined.

"Why can't I just have a normal dog like everybody else?" Charlie Brown asked to no one in particular.

Once the food had magically disappeared from the house tables, Charlie Brown and friends took a good look at their time tables. Their first lesson would be Transfiguration with professor McGonagall, which pleased Marcie. After that they would have Herbology with professor Sprout. Charlie Brown could still hear Violet and Patty's screams from when Dumbledore had declared professor Sprout head of Hufflepuff house. Then the gang would have an hours lunch before rounding up the days lessons with double potions. Charlie Brown had to suppress a groan when he'd read this, after what happened yesterday he wasn't much looking forward to meeting potions master professor Snape. He still hadn't had the chance to tell his friends about how his scar had started burning when he had looked Snape in the eye, and he wasn't going to until he was sure no one was listening in on them.

"Excuse me?" Came a female, scottish voice. Charlie Brown turned to see Morag Abercrombie staring eagerly at him "Are you really Charlie Brown?"

"Um... yes" Charlie Brown replied, trying not to sound exhasperated.

"From America?" Morag questioned, Charlie Brown nodded, not quite sure what she was getting at. Morag squealed in delight and, without warning, grabbed Charlie Brown in a hug.

"I knew it! Oh, it's so good to see you again Charlie!" Morag proclaimed, to the bemusement of Charlie Brown and the others. Morag released Charlie Brown and, meekly, said "Well, I can't say that I guess. We've never really met in person. So, in that case, it's good to finally meet you"

Charlie Brown stared in confusion at the girl, still blushing from when she had embraced him. Just how did she know him? He wasn't sure he should ask, he didn't know how to do so without possibly hurting her feelings, since she clearly knew him and was so excited to meet him. Through some rare luck of his though, someone else asked the question for him.

"Who are you, and how do you know Chuck?" Peppemint Patty asked, feeling slightly annoyed and, though she would never admit it, jealous that Morag had just hugged Charlie Brown.

"I'm his Pen-pal, we've been writing to each other for years" Morag answered giddily. Charlie Brown's eyes widened in surprise.

"Morag. Wow, is it really you?" Charlie Brown asked eagerly.

"Sure is. See, I've even got some of your last letters with me" Morag said, extracting a few envelopes from her pocket and handing them to Charlie Brown for examination. They were indeed Charlie Brown's, he recognised the smears from his unsuccessful attempts to use a pen.

"Wow. It's good to finally meet you Morag" Charlie Brown said sincerely. Morag smiled widely and gave him another hug.

"Jus' too bad we couldn't have been in the same house, huh Charlie" Morag said, looking somewhat downhearted. But she quickly cheered up to say "Oh well, at least it looks like we'll be seeing a lot of each other from now on. I still can't believe that the Charlie Brown I've been writing to was the famous Charlie Brown that beat you-know-who"

"I didn't know you were a witch" Charlie Brown said, quickly wishing he hadn't been so blunt.

"Yeah, I'm half blood. My Ma's a muggle, but dad's a wizard. He didn't tell her 'til after they were married, pretty nasty shock for her once she found out" Morag replied, to which the Peanuts and Harry's trio laughed.

A few of Morag's friends in Hufflepuff called over to her, she gave Charlie Brown an apologetic look and said "I've got to go Charlie, I'm sorry. I'll see you around, ok?" And she gave Charlie Brown one last hug before skipping back to the Hufflepuff table.

"Is it just me, or is that girl head over heels for you?" Lucy said, looking bemused that a girl had talked to Charlie Brown in such a friendly manner. Peppermint Patty's fork clattered onto the floor.

"I doubt it, she has thirty other Pen-pals" Charlie Brown sighed dejectedly.

Noticing that their first lesson would begin in about fifteen minutes and not knowing how long it would take to reach the transfiguration classroom, Marcie called for Nearly Headless Nick (Once more he told Pigpen not to call him that), who was delighted to lead the five students to their classroom.

"We'll see you guys later" Harry called after them, then added "And stay away from the third suit of armour on the second floor, I rigged it's helmet to shoot dungbombs at anyone who passes it!"

And so, Charlie Brown and the other Gryffindor Peanuts were off to Transfiguration. They passed many portraits whose inhabitants waved and spoke to them, some of the portrait wizards even passed through to their neighbours portraits to interact with their inhabitants. There was a humourous incident with a grizzly looking warlock who, passing through portraits to maintain a good look at Charlie Brown, had accidentally walked in on a picture of skinny dipping teenage girls. Naturally they pelted him with rocks and twigs and anything else they could reach.

Hogwarts castle must have had a hundred and fourty two different staircases, so naturally it was very difficult to navigate if you didn't have a ghost like Nick showing you the way. Charlie Brown and friends made sure to avoid the suits of armour on the second floor, but they ended up pelted with dungbombs anyway, as a large pile of them just suddenly fell from the sky when they were passing the fourth floor corridor.

"Peeves, might I ask that you not pull pranks on the new students" Sir Nicholas said, exhasperated.

The culprit of the stink bomb attack floated down before the Peanuts. He might have been a ghost due to some resemblance, but where as Nick was pearly white and translucent, Peeves was anything but. Looking rather solid and dressed in a bright orange suit and revolving bow tie, Peeves's wicked and wide grin gave off the immediate impression of a troublemaker.

"Ooooh! Ickle firsties! Did Peevsie give them a fwight" Peeves cackled madly, he spun around through the air chanting "Ickle firsties, Ickle firsties! Smell like dung, ickle firsties!"

"Peeves is a poltergeist, the exact definition of a prankster" Nick informed the Peanuts, he gave Peeves a stern look and said "Would you mind moving aside Peeves, we must be getting to transfiguration"

"Why would Peevsie want to move, tis cozy here" Peeves laughed, floating down on his back straight in front of Charlie Brown and friends.

"Peeves, please just go. Don't make me get the Bloody Baron" Nick said sternly.

That certainly knocked the grin off the poltergeist's face, and moments later Peeves was zooming off through the wall, stick screaming "Ickle firsties, ickle firsties! What fun they'll be!"

"That's the guy you and those other ghosts were talking about last night, right?" Asked Pigpen.

"Oh yes. Sadly, though Peeves is not a proper ghost, merely a chaotic spirit, he is still associated with us to some extent. It is our job to decide whether or not he attends the feast. As if we would let him, you know the one time we did let him come he pelted the entire line of first years with mashed potatoes and placed woopie coushins on all the teachers seats" Nick said, looking disgusted at Peeves's lack of dignity. Lucy however was laughing at the thought of it.

After stopping at the nearest bathrooms to wash off the smell of dungbombs (Pigpen seemed hardly any different than before) The gang continued on their trek to the transfiguration class, arriving just before professor McGonagall.

"Well I must be going now, if you ever need me feel free to call" Nick announced as he disappeared through the ceiling.

Professor McGonagall ushered the Gryffindor class into the classroom. Charlie Brown took a seat in the desk right between Peppermint Patty and Pigpen, while Marcie sat on Patty's other side and Lucy behind Charlie Brown.

Charlie Brown took a good look at the other Gryffindor students. Neville Longbottom was trembling in his seat, scared of the possibility that he would do terrible in this class. Charlie Brown shared his sentiments. Colin Creevey grinned widely at Charlie Brown and would have blinded him with the flash from his camera if the round headed boy hadn't looked away quickly. Charlie Brown had finally learned the name of his fifth room mate during breakfast, Terri Mcduff. Yeah, Mcduff. Turns out he was the nephew of Louis Mcduff. However, when asked by Lucy if he was a "Technical wizz" like his uncle, Terri had just groaned. Louis's faulty inventions seemed an embarassing subject to his family.

Apart from his three friends there were also two other first year girls in Gryffindor. Of course there was Ginny Weasley, who kept smiling in Charlie Brown's direction, and then there was this girl named Alice Tolipan. She was a pretty girl, but with front teeth so large they made her look like a beaver whenever she smiled, which she was doing a lot of towards Charlie Brown. Charlie Brown was blushing at the attention he was receiving from the girls. Maybe Linus was right, he thought hopefully, maybe his luck with the ladies had changed.

Professor McGonagall stared curiously at Snoopy, who had followed Charlie Brown and was sitting in his own desk with Woodstock by his side. With a frown she picked Snoopy up by the collar and threw him out the door, Woodstock smiled meekly at her and followed after his canine friend. Professor McGonagall gave Charlie Brown a swift look before addressing the whole class.

"Transfiguration is among the most complex and dangerous branches of magic you will study here at Hogwarts" McGonagall said strictly "Anyone who feels they can get away with messing about in my classes shall leave and not come back. I will warn you only once, so be careful how you behave. As members of my own house, I expect a certain amount of discipline and refinement from each of you"

With that little speech out of the way professor McGonagall extracted her wand from her sleeve, tapped her desk thrice and transformed it into a pig. The whole class broke out into applause at this fine display of witchcraft, professor McGonagall wore a vaguely satisfied expression as she turned the pig back into a desk, much to the pig's dismay.

Charlie Brown had already anticipated that he and the class would be no where near turning desks into live animals at this point in their wizarding careers, but he did feel a tad underestimated when professor McGonagall announced that for their first task, they would be attempting to turn a match into a needle.

He changed his mind immediately after the lesson started properly. After waving their wands and uttering the incantation professor McGonagall had described to them, none of the class had managed to alter their match sticks.

Charlie Brown waved his phoenix feather wand three more times and spoke the incantation as clearly as possible, but nothing happened. He tried his hardest to picture the match becoming a needle in his head, but this hardly seemed to have helped.

Peppermint Patty and Pigpen fared no better than Charlie Brown, if possible Peppermint Patty seemed to be doing worse. She became very irritated after her fifth attempt to transfigure the matchstick and had flailed her wand around so violently that she ended up snapping the match in two. Peppermint Patty was then forced to ask professor McGonagall for a new matchstick, the transfiguration teacher did not look pleased.

McGonagall was even more annoyed with Neville however, who had simultaniously broken five matches and then somehow managed to fall back in his chair, causing his wand to go flying into Ginny's hair. Ginny looked confused for a moment after the wands landing, but this turned to horror when she realised her hair was beginning to grow to a hundred times it's natural length. Professor McGonagall hurried forward to end the incantation, and everybody but Ginny watched eagerly as she made the extra hair vanish into thin air.

Professor McGonagall shook her head at Neville, but luckily since it had been an accident she could not rightly punish him.

Charlie Brown was becoming more and more convinced that the hat had been making fun of him by saying he had talent, halfway through the lesson he still hadn't managed to alter his matchstick, whereas Marcie had already turned her's into a needle.

"Excellent work Johnson, five points for Gryffindor" Professor McGonagall said approvingly as she handed Marcie a second match with which to work. Marcie looked rather pleased with herself, but not at all smug.

As for Lucy... well, you can imagine the results already I'm sure, but I'll tell you anyway. Like the rest of her class, Lucy had failed to make any difference to the matchstick. Her ninth failed attempt caused her to get so mad she just swung the wand around and bellowed "Just change you stupid match!"

Professor McGonagall marched over to reprimend Lucy for her shouting, and both were caught up in the explosion that resulted from Lucy's poor spellwork. Neither of them were harmed, but they were covered in more soot than Pigpen was with dust.

"Make that five points off Gryffindor" Professor McGonagall sighed, somewhat reluctantly.

Charlie Brown's continued attempts to change the matchstick proved utter failures, and though it cheered him up a bit to know he wasn't the only one in the class struggling with the spell (Marcie was the only one to get it right) he still felt like a failure. Marcie had tried whispering a few bits of advice to help him, as well as Peppermint Patty, who despite the advice still got the wand movements wrong. Charlie Brown honestly didn't know what he was doing wrong though, magic had been so easy when it was performed accidentally.

Ten minutes before the end of the lesson professor McGonagall instructed the class to hand in their matchstick. Marcie handed in three pointy needles, Lucy glared jealously at her. Charlie Brown and friends were then tasked with writing down complicated notes for the rest of the lesson on how to properly perform the spell.

"While I may feel some of you could have done slightly better" McGonagall began, glancing in turn at Neville, Peppermint Patty and Lucy "I believe it prudent to inform you that very few students have ever come into their first class and succeeded at transfiguring their matchsticks. As I have already explained, transfiguration is very complex and takes much patience to master. We shall continue to practise, and I am confident that within the next few weeks you will have all mastered this first spell, so long as you put all the effort you can into it"

Charlie Brown felt somewhat elevated by this news, and as he left to go to his next lesson, he promised himself that he would put everything he had into his spell casting.

* * *

><p>After being ejected from the transfiguration classroom by professor McGonagall, Snoopy and Woodstock had spent the hour wandering about Hogwarts castle, enjoying the many wonderous sights the castle had to offer. Until they realised they were very, very lost.<p>

_"How do they expect kids to get around in a school this big, I can't even remember where the hall is. And I'm hungry"_ Snoopy complained while patting his stomach.

_"IIIII III IIII II"_

_"Yes Woodstock, I know I'm always hungry. I can't help it that my stomach's so greedy"_ Snoopy thought while rolling his eyes.

_"Oh, sure, blame me for all your problems"_ Came the sardonic voice of Snoopy's stomach. Snoopy sighed, his body parts often seemed to have minds of their own. He was just glad to find that his stomach had not started one of his body's typical arguments, he was not in the mood to listen to his feet exchanging insults with his ears and arms.

Snoopy and Woodstock passed through several different doors, trying to find a part of the castle they recognised. It was not always easy, some doors you had to tickle in just the right place to convince them to open, a few doors were hidden behind tapestries, and some weren't really doors at all, but solid walls that pretended to be doors. Woodstock had discovered this when he walked into what appeared to be a small wooden door and kicked at the lock for five minutes straight before realizing his mistake, his face feathers going a tad red.

_"At least the views good"_ Snoopy commented, staring out a window into the school grounds. While Hogwarts castle was big, the school grounds were... so much bigger. The surrounding fields and landscape alone was at least ten or twenty acres, and the forest had to be a few hundred acres. So much to explore, so much fun to be had discovering the Hogwarts grounds. If only they could find the front door.

_"Say Woodstock, what say when we finally get outta this mess we get the round headed kid to go hiking in the woods with us?"_ Snoopy asked eagerly.

_"If you did that you'd be in big trouble, beagle"_ Came a raspy, vaguely feminine voice. Snoopy and Woodstock's heads shot up in fright and they turned to see Mrs Norris, the caretakers cat. Woodstock was quick to hide behind Snoopy, who was frowning at the old cat.

_"What do you want feline?"_ Snoopy asked.

_"Oh, nothing, nothing"_ Mrs Norris mused, pacing back and forth while keeping her glowing yellow eyes locked on the white beagle _"It's just that student entry into the forest is forbidden, and the same rule applies to pets. If you were to convince your master to set foot in the forest, I would have to have my master punish you both severely"_

_"What are you, a cop?" _Snoopy asked sarcastically.

_"I am the caretakers loyal feline, amongst the beasts I am the law here"_ Mrs Norris replied, her eyes glowing with malice and a certain smugness embroided on her face.

_"Yeah, well, I don't take orders from a cat"_ Snoopy said defiantly. In a flash he was pinned to the ground by the unpleasant cat.

_"Is that so?"_ Mrs Norris thought, giving Snoopy what looked horribly like a wicked grin. The beagle struggled to break free, but Mrs Norris held a firm grip on him _"I don't take kindly to troublemakers in my school, beagle. So unless you want me to get you and all your friends chained upside down by your ankles, or sent back home in one small crate on the back of a pickup truck, you will follow the rules. You will NOT cause any trouble in these halls. And neither you or those kids will put hide nor hair into that forbidden forest. Understood?"_

Snoopy wanted nothing more than to spit in this cat's face and tell her off, but after failing to break free of her grip even after a lot more struggling, Snoopy bitterly sealed his eyes and nodded. Mrs Norris gave another apparent smile and lifted her paws off Snoopy, who went crashing into the wall since he was still squirming underneath her.

_"Glad we understand one another. See you around"_ Mrs Norris said, she gave Woodstock a hungry look, which scared the heck out of him, and gracefully trotted off down the hallway. Snoopy stared after her with a furious glare.

_"Ok, I admit I might have been slightly unfair in how I talked to cats in the past, but that cat is EVIL"_ Snoopy growled, Woodstock was still shuddering fearfully until Snoopy patted him on the head _"Come on buddy, let's go back to finding a way out of this school before that hag comes back"_

And so Snoopy and Woodstock continued exploring the vast depths of Hogwarts castle, now keeping a close eye out for the unpleasant Mrs Norris.

* * *

><p>With the end of Transfiguration, the Peanuts were given a half hour to track down their Herbology class, which was located in the greenhouses just outside the school. Finding the greenhouses was easier said than done though, the gang were even more lost in this enormous castle than Snoopy and Woodstock.<p>

During their trek through the castle the gang had taken a passageway going down, which had somehow led them to the top floor. They had then ended up walking in on the third years charms lesson and the fifth years defense against the dark arts class. Apparently the students from the latter class were practising stunning spells, one of which struck Charlie Brown and knocked him out cold. They'd had to rush him to the hospital wing, where the nurse Madam Pomfrey un-stunned him in an instant.

Charlie Brown and friends however had gotten into trouble when they tried to force their way through a locked door, the caretaker Argus Filch arrived on the scene and declared it the entrance to the third floor corridor. Long story short Filch had done a lot of yelling, threatened to tie them all to a hot air balloon going to Pluto, and ignoring their efforts to explain themselves he would have given them a months detention if not for the timely arrival of Louis McDuff. What happened then was... another long story.

"Why are we taking that guy's classes again?" Pigpen asked as the gang finally found their way to the entrance hall. All five of them were covered in scortch marks and potato salad.

"Well, I don't know about you, but if I'm as good at magic as I am at maths and English, I need all the extra credit I can get" Peppermint Patty explained, yanking a foot long leech off her arm and covering the wound with tissue.

"You could always try studying really hard and putting your all into your schoolwork" Marcie suggested.

"Marcie, you and I are two very different people" Peppermint Patty said, Marcie sighed.

After exiting the castle, Charlie Brown and friends had a quick look around for the greenhouses. When they found them they were already five minutes late for the lesson, but luckily professor Sprout had not yet started the lesson, having anticipated that most students would be late on their first day.

"At any rate, I'm glad you could make it at all" Professor Sprout said with a smile. As opposed to the other members of staff, who were all dressed very neat and tidy, professor Sprout was an absolute mess. She was dressed in light brown robes splattered all over with mud, dust, dirt, fertiliser and any other messy substance you could find in a garden. If anything, she looked a lot more like Pigpen's mother than his real mom.

Charlie Brown remembered professor Dumbledore explain over breakfast that sometimes members of different houses would share classes together. Herbology was one of these classes, and the Gryffindor's were sharing it with the Hufflepuff's.

Most of the Hufflepuff students gawked at Charlie Brown and waved excitedly at him, much to his discomfort. Morag gave him a friednly smile and a much less vigorous, calm wave, which Charlie Brown felt obliged to return. Violet and Patty were also in this class, and looking like they'd rather be anywhere else. Apart from the fact that they were bound to get dirty working with plants, they were also not at all happy about having professor Sprout as their teacher or head of house.

"Welcome to your first Herbology lesson. While some of you might think otherwise-" Professor Sprout glanced in Violet and Patty's direction, as well as at most of the girls "Herbology is a vital subject here at Hogwarts. The study of magical plants and fungi has long fascinated many a wizard, and through planting and studying them we have achieved much success. Why, if not for plants we wouldn't have half the many potions we so often take for granted today. Most healing potions have some form of vegetation as a key ingredient, so if not for the study of Herbology many of you and your ancestors would not be here today"

"Of course there is more to Herbology than that. I think you find once you've been through a bit of toil and hard work that it is most rewarding once you have a garden full of dittany. And yes, this class will require much physical labor over the course of the year, and I want no one complaining about how difficult the work is. I expect each of you to put as much effort into it as possible"

Charlie Brown felt a bit nervous knowing this was going to be a difficult class, but he had promised to work hard at school, so no matter what professor Sprout told him to do he would do it... unless perhaps she wanted him to brush the teeth of a kite eating tree, he probably couldn't do that.

"Now, for todays lesson I was going to have you take notes and study from your text books. But then I thought, heck, why not do something a little more fun for the first day of term. So, for your first lesson we'll be planting umbrella flowers" Professor Sprout announced. Violet and Patty groaned, but everyone else looked interested.

Professor Sprout took out an extra large pot, filled it up with soil, dug a deep hole in it with her gloved finger and dropped a big, multi-coloured seed into it.

"Now, as you are first years, this greenhouse we are using does not contain any dangerous plants..." Professor Sprout began, gesturing around to the plantlife. There were various types of colourful flowers and exotic mushrooms, or were they toadstools, a small tree growing golden apples and what looked like a small cactus in the corner "This is for your own safety, by the start of the second year we will move into greenhouse number three, which houses more dangerous plantlife. For now you are free to enjoy these harmless beauties. Though I must add, umbrella flowers grow fast and extremely tall. They require proper care and nourishment to thrive, we'll make it a class project to look after out specimens until they have reached such a size as the ones above you"

Everyone looked up at the giant, blossiming red, pink and yellow flowers above them. They did look nice, but if they fell on one of the kids then they would certainly be counted as dangerous.

With their task set, professor Sprout laid out a bag full of seeds and instructed the students to work in groups of three. Charlie Brown was going to work with Peppermint Patty and Marcie, but...

"Hey Charlie Brown, old buddy old pal, let's be partners" Violet said sweetly, pulling Charlie Brown away to her table before he could say anything. Patty grabbed a few seeds and pots and joined them, while the rest of the Peanuts just stared over in confusion.

Charlie Brown would have liked to talk his way out of this situation, but too late, professor Sprout had already agreed to the three of them working as a team. Charlie Brown gave Violet and Patty an imploring look, for which they flashed him smiles that were far too wide to mean anything good.

As the task began and Charlie Brown put on his dragon hide gloves, he couldn't help but wonder why on earth Violet and Patty would want to work with him. They were friends, of course, they had been some of his earliest friends. Violet had even been... Charlie Brown fought back a blush... his first crush. Of course such feelings disappated after Violet and Patty both turned into snobs.

While they were still considered friends, Violet and Patty had spent much of the last few years bringing Charlie Brown down and making him feel like an outcast. Normally they would not allow people to associate them, the most popular girls in school, with a loser like Charlie Brown. So why were they suddenly so interested in working with him on a class project? Possibly it was just because they wanted to manipulate him into doing all their work for him. Yeah, that was probably it. But was that the only reason?

"So... not to sound rude or anything, but... why do you girls suddenly want to work with me? I was under the impression that you hated me" Charlie Brown said while filling his pot with soil.

"We don't hate you Charlie Brown" Patty said defensively, looking away awkwardly when Charlie Brown stared curiously at her "We just... um..."

"We don't want you ruining our social status" Violet finished bluntly.

"Oh. Right" Charlie Brown said. He didn't feel hurt, he had already known that "So why do you want to work with me when half the class is watching?"

Violet and Patty exchanged looks, suspiscious looks Charlie Brown thought. After a moments silence, the two girls sighed and turned back to Charlie Brown.

"Look, last night we did a bit of thinking. Now, of course we're used to being the in-crowd, it just wouldn't be right if we were anything less. And considering this school is full of, I grudgingly admit, more interesting people than us, we need to work hard and fast if we're going to achieve the same Goddess-like status we did at our old school. And we realised that the quickest way to do so..." Violet hesitated, looking remorseful as she concluded "Though we'd rather not, we've decided to act more friendly to you"

Charlie Brown stared blankly at Violet. Had he heard that right? Violet and Patty treating him in a friendly manner. While that may have been perfectly understandable when they were four, nowadays it was a very rare occurance.

"I don't understand" Charlie Brown said stupidly, Violet groaned.

"Look, neither of us want people to assosiate us with you, we've spent half our lives working against that, but clearly the people in this society are dumb enough to think you're a celebrity. You have clearly earned the love and admiration of everyone here, if we were to start ridiculing you and deploy our usual tactics of social exclusion on you, we would end up looking like the bad guys. Then no-one would like us" Violet explained.

"So, we've come to a decision that... for the sake of our popularity, we're going to kindly associate with you a little more from now on" Patty finished, Violet looked horried at that statement but Patty seemed less disgusted.

Charlie Brown didn't quite know what to think about this. His first thought was that it might be nice, Violet and Patty were usually one of the main sources of grief in his life, to have them suddenly act nicely towards him for a while would be a real improvement. It would be just like old times, he thought happily. But of course he was never able to enjoy happy thoughts for long, the mere fact that he knew this was just one of Violet and Patty's ways of manipulating him to get what they wanted was disheartening, and made him question their stance to their friendship.

But still, it's not like he could say no to something like this. He couldn't pass down an opportunity to have Violet and Patty treat him fairly for a change, and he did want to help his friends improve their lifestyles here at Hogwarts so that they were more comfortable.

"Don't get too used to it Charlie Brown, as soon as you've screwed up enough so that people around here know how wishy washy you are, then it'll be safe for us to go back to mocking you. By then we'll have already achieved our desired level of popularity, so life'll just go straight back to normal" Violet replied to the grin on Charlie Brown's face.

Though a bit disappointed with that last statement, Charlie Brown nodded his head meekly and said "Ok... sounds good"

Violet and Patty smirked, giving each other a high five under the table.

Though it was a simple and easy task, the lesson seemed to drag on for Charlie Brown. He had been right to think that Violet and Patty would make him do their work for them, even with their gloves on they refused to empty soil into their pot's and wouldn't dare stick their fingers in to make a whole, Charlie Brown had to carefully plant each of the jumbo sized seeds himself.

The first years were also tasked with giving the plants dragon dung fertiliser and measure a careful amount of water to sprinkle into the pots. Charlie Brown had to do both tasks three times again.

It would have gone a lot quicker though if Violet and Patty weren't making such a fuss to let people know they were friends with "The famous Charlie Brown" Within minutes after their little discussion, Violet and Patty were laughing loudly at jokes he had never made, giving him pointless compliments at innapropriate times and once Patty lived up to her name and patted him hard on the back, causing him to tip over all three pots of soil and start again.

Charlie Brown thought Violet and Patty must have long forgotten how to be nice to him properly, as they were trying too hard to be friendly and it seemed plain obvious they didn't mean any of the nice things they said. Well, it seemed obvious, but most of the students in the class actually bought it and were staring at Violet and Patty with looks that said "Wow, they must be cool" Or "Why can't I be them"

None of the Gryffindor Peanuts fell for Violet and Patty's ploy though, they had no idea why Violet and Patty were acting the way they were, but they all knew it wasn't genuine good will. Peppermint Patty was glaring at the two girls, thinking they were just manipulating Charlie Brown, while Lucy was making several rude comments under her breath.

When Charlie Brown was finally finished planting and watering the seeds, professor Sprout directed the classes attention to his pot. She pulled out her wand and uttered "Lumos Solem" And a ball of sunlight burst from her wand and hovered above the pot.

The students all gasped at this impressive spell, all staring wide eyed at the glowing orb. For about two seconds, after that they all had to look away because it was so bright.

"Now this is another useful spell for Herbology, Lumos Solem. A perfect way to provide additional sunlight for plants that aren't getting enough, and useful as a defense against dangerous plants like the devils snare, which detests sunlight" Professor Sproud explained "Now, traditionally charms are taught in the Charms lesson, but I want each of you to practise lumos solem. You never know when it could come in handy"

This was the only stage of the lesson Violet and Patty agreed to take part in, and they spent the next quarter of an hour practising the wand movements of lumos solem.

While professor Sprout was attending to Lucy, who's wand had caused yet another explosion that left her buried under some rubble, Charlie Brown didn't notice a certain something creep up on him. Before he knew it, what appeared to be a venus fly trap had clamped it's jaw down on his head.

Charlie Brown screamed and flailed about as the plant chewed his head, while most of the class was laughing at the hilarity of the situation professor Sprout looked horrified. She would have come to Charlie Brown's aid, but Pigpen beat her too it. For some strange reason, when Pigpen reached out his hand cautiously to gently stroke the plants head, the supposed fly trap let out a sigh, appeared to smile euthorically and released Charlie Brown from it's mouth.

"My word boy, I do believe you have a gift. Twenty points to Gryffindor" Professor Sprout complimented Pigpen, who smiled appreciatively. Professor Sprout grabbed the fly trap and snapped it's jaws tight together, she found it's pot and took it away somewhere out of place.

"Honestly, how did a venomous tantacula wind up in greenhouse one? I'm going to be having a word with some of my older students" Professor Sprout muttered furiously as she pulled a vial of green liquid out of a drawer and handed it to Charlie Brown "Pour this on wherever it's teeth bit you, venomous tantacula bites are poisonous enough to kill you"

Charlie Brown gulped and doused his entire head and neck with the antidote.

The attack on Charlie Brown by the venomous tantacula seemed to signal the end of the lesson, as not two seconds after Professor Sprout called "Right, that's all for today. Everyone sign their name on a piece of parchment and attatch it to your pots, we will spend the next three weeks studying the growth patterns of your umbrella flower. Once you're done with that, everyone pack up and I'll be seeing you all on wednesday, then again on thursday"

Violet and Patty groaned at the prospect of more lessons with professor Sprout before signing their names on the two better looking pots of soil Charlie Brown had planted the seeds in. Once they were all sorted, the students left the greenhouses and headed to the halls for lunch. Violet and Patty stuck by Charlie Brown's side all the way up, his other friends didn't look pleased.

* * *

><p>Snoopy and Woodstock were wandering through the fourth floor corridor, still hopelessly lost. They'd had a pretty fun time exploring the castle. So far they'd discovered the Hufflepuff basement, where they had played poker with several other pets, they'd duelled a magical suit of armour in a sword fight, they'd even come across a room on the sixth floor filled with dog biscuits and angel food cake. Even after emptying the room they were still hungry for lunch however.<p>

_"So, Woodstock, assuming we ever make it to the hall for lunch, where would you like to go next?"_ Snoopy asked his bird pal.

_"III IIIII III II III"_

_"No, I don't think they have a rocket to Mars here"_ Snoopy thought, rolling his eyes _"But who knows, maybe they'd let us fly around on some of their broomsticks. They're not likely to say no to the world famous quidditch player, are they?"_

While Snoopy and Woodstock made their way to the next set of stairs, down below the door to the third floor corridor had just opened. Out hobbled Argus Filch the caretaker, looking absolutely terrified as he slammed the door shut.

"Not that I'm complaining, but shouldn't Hagrid be the one feeding that monstrocity?" Filch asked himself bitterly. A booming bark echoed from behind the door, Filch yelped and ran off as fast as his lumbago would let him. At around the same time as Filch disappeared down the staircase, Snoopy and Woodstock arrived on the third floor through the other set of stairs. While they were about to go the same way as Filch, Snoopy stopped after his nose caught wind of a delightful smell.

_"Mmm... fresh, T-bone steak"_ Snoopy thought dreamily. He was lifted off his feat by the inticing smell and hovered towards the source of it.

Woodstock initially followed Snoopy without question, however when he realised in which direction they were going something clicked in his head and he screeched fearfully as he tried to pull Snoopy back to the ground.

Alas, Woodstock's efforts were in vain. Snoopy, with his mind adrift, was completely ignoring the small birds attempts to preserve his life and soon had drifted through the door into the third floor corridor, closing the door behind him before Woodstock could get in with him.

_"III IIII I"_ Woodstock tweeted in concern. All he could do now was wait, wait and hope Snoopy came to his senses soon enough to avoid a painful death. For a moment there was silence, no sound at all echoed from behind the door and there was no indication as of yet that Snoopy had been killed. Woodstock pressed his head up against the door, listening carefully... ... ...

_"AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"_

Woodstock barely had time to leap back and avoid having the door smash him flat against the wall, Snoopy sprinted out from the third floor corridor screaming at the top of his breath and zoomed down the stairs.

Woodstock took a peek inside the corridor, let out his own terrified scream and slammed the door shut, just as three monstrous roars erupted from within. Woodstock leaned against the door, clutching his thumping heart. Via the laws of cartoon physics, Woodstock pulled out a stack of wooden boards and began nailing them to the door. After checking the door was appropriately sealed by the wooden boards, Woodstock took off after his beagle buddy, relieved he had lived to tell this tale.

Snoopy ran all the way to the entrance hall in his fright, followed shortly by Woodstock. The animals leaned against the door to the Great Hall and gasped for breath, still shaking in terror at what they had seen.

_"What do they think they're doing, keeping something like THAT in a school"_ Snoopy thought irritably _"Honestly, I'm not usually one to run away from my own kind, or anything close, but that... thing, it was a demon"_

_"III IIII"_ Woodstock screeched fretfully.

_"Don't worry Woodstock, we're never going there again. Not even for t-bone steaks"_ Snoopy replied firmly. Woodstock thought it was very unusual for Snoopy to turn down an offer of food, even if his life were put in danger. Snoopy took a good look around, grinned and said _"Anyway, now that we finally know where we are, how about lunch?"_

Woodstock chirruped enthusiastically and the two friends skipped into the Great Hall, completely forgetting their little skirmish on the third floor.

Snoopy and Woodstock hopped up on the Gryffindor table before Charlie Brown, who smiled at them as they began gobbling down the many yummy food stuff that littered the table. Although, it did make him feel a bit unneeded knowing he wouldn't really have to feed Snoopy any more.

Despite their being Hufflepuff's, Violet and Patty had positioned themselves either side of Charlie Brown. After a quick introduction to Harry and friends, Violet and Patty had gone on to make several loud comments to Charlie Brown, most of which emphasised how lovely and charming they themselves were.

While Harry, Ron and Hermione weren't quite sure what to make of the girls, the Peanuts gang were all staring disapprovingly at them.

"It's been a marvelous first day, hasn't it Charlie Brown. It's nice to attend lessons with your loyal best friends, isn't it" Violet commented, as a moderately large group of Ravenclaw's passed by.

"Alright, that's enough!" Peppermint Patty finally snapped, she stood up and stared down the two snobs.

"Something the matter, Patricia?" Violet asked curtly, Peppermint Patty's glare intensified.

"Violet, we all know the only reason you girls are acting so friendly around Chuck is because you're using him to make yourselves look good" Peppermint Patty said accusingly.

"And...?" Violet said, motioning calmly for Peppermint Patty to elaborate.

"So stop! You should know it's wrong to exploit your friends like that. I admit you should treat Chuck better than you do, but not for those reasons. It's downright selfish and disrespectful to Chuck" Peppermin Patty said strongly.

"Well, I'm sure he doesn't mind, right Charlie Brown?" Violet asked, batting her eyelashes cutely at Charlie Brown. Looking a little flustered, Charlie Brown shook his head, to which Violet grinned in satisfaction.

"Aw come on Chuck, you can't just let them take advantage of you like this" Peppermint Patty said, getting annoyed with Charlie Brown's submission.

"Well, if them being nice to me will help make them more popular, then I guess I'm ok with it. At least it's something nice I can do for them" Charlie Brown said reasonably, but none of his friends accepted it.

"I must agree with Peppermint Patty, Charlie Brown. What they're doing to you is just plain selfish, for once you should just tell them to leave you alone" Said Pigpen.

"Pur-lease, if Charlie Brown ever showed that kinda backbone it would mean the world was coming to an end" Violet replied in a faint whisper, so the other students didn't hear her.

While his friends kept trying to encourage Charlie Brown to stand up for himself and tell Violet and Patty off, Charlie Brown just didn't have it in him to do so. Violet grinned widely at his wishy-washyness and continued flaunting her friendship with the "Famous Charlie Brown" Patty however seemed slightly less enthusiastic. While she was also a snob, it could be said that she was more sympathetic than Violet, and she seemed to be realising the selfishness of her actions. That didn't stop her at all from making herself look good through her interaction with Charlie Brown however, though all the same her compliments sounded a bit more sincere.

"So, anyway, how you liking your lessons?" Harry asked, hoping to ease the awkward mood hovering over the gang.

"Not too bad, Pigpen's set to be the new star pupil in Herbology" Lucy said sarcastically, Pigpen caught on to her tone but still smiled proudly "And of course Marcie's good at everything. And Peppermint Patty here hasn't fallen asleep in class even once today, which is saying a LOT for her"

"You might want to sleep through potions though, that's the absolute worst lesson there is" Ron commented, Hermione gave him an annoyed look.

"That's not something to be encouraged Ron, especially not in professor Snape's lessons. Just imagine the trouble she'd be in" Hermione said crossly.

"I was only joking" Ron replied irritably. A few of the kids snickered.

While Snoopy juggled boiled potatoes, all of which he caught in his mouth and swallowed, Charlie Brown finished his own food quickly and, while looking at Patty to respond to a question, he saw Freida and Schroeder approaching the table, accompanied by the girl they had been talking to last night.

"Hey guys. I'd like very much to have you all meet Luna Lovegood" Freida announced, gesturing to Luna. The other Peanuts expressed their greetings, some did so a bit awkwardly because they found Luna's permanently surprised expression offputting. That, and the fact that she was wearing radish earrings.

"Nice to meet you Luna" Peppermint Patty was the first to speak up. Luna shook Patty's outstretched hand, looking directly over her shoulder.

"Nice to meet you" Luna replied serenly. If she hadn't been shaking Peppermint Patty's hand it would have been unclear who she was talking too.

Luna's protruberant eyes drifted between the other Peanuts before resting on Charlie Brown.

"Why don't you guys join us, assuming Snoopy doesn't eat it all first there's plenty of food to go around" Pigpen offered. Violet and Patty glared at him for inviting someone like Luna to sit with them, but could not stop Freida, Schroeder and Luna taking up seats at the Gryffindor table. While most of the Peanuts and Harry's trio were introducing themselves, Luna's eyes never strayed from the round headed boy two seats away from her.

"You're Charlie Brown" Luna said plainly.

"Um... I guess so" Charlie Brown replied awkwardly, most of his friends facepalmed, while Lucy giggled. Luna briefly turned her gaze on Lucy.

"And I think your name is Lucy Van Pelt" Luna said in a misty voice.

"Yep, I'm sure my friends here have spoke fondly of me" Lucy said, giving Freida and Schroeder a look that said she would slug them if they did anything else. They both looked away nervously.

"Hmm..." Luna mumbled, staring transfixed at Lucy's mouth. Lucy felt awkward as the blond girl leaned in and examined her lips closely.

"Schroeder mentions you have a very large mouth, I must admit it is oddly proportioned. Perhaps you're suffering from huge mouth syndrome, a common occurance in people who tend to do a lot of yelling" Luna explained thoughtfully. Lucy flashed a glare at Schroeder and gave Luna a furious look for her suggestion, Luna didn't seem to notice and was twirling her hair around playfully.

"Say, Charlie Brown, how did lessons go today" Schroeder intergected before Lucy could pound Luna.

"Pretty good" Charlie Brown replied, all too eager to change the subject "How about yours"

"Oh, they've been fantastic" Freida piped up "Our first lesson was charms, our teacher Professor Flitwick is really nice, but he's as small as those goblins back at Gringotts. He's our head of house too, and he says my naturally curly hair really suits me. I quite agree. He showed us this spell called wingardium leviosa, which makes things float in the air. I really wanted to try it out, but he says we can't until next lesson, right now we're just reading up on it. And after that we had history of magic... ugh, I'm not one to be rude but professor Binns is really boring. He's a ghost you know, but I don't think he knows he's dead. He just keeps going on, and on, and on about all sorts of boring stuff that nobody wants to listen to. Can you imagine how annoying it can get to hear someone talk non stop?"

Yes, the other Peanuts could very well say they knew how that felt. They were all leaning against the table with their heads in their hand, looking frustrated at Freida's non stop chatter. It was impossible to tell if Luna was listening, she hardly seemed aware of anything that was going on around her. Charlie Brown felt oddly relaxed looking at her dreamy expression.

While Freida continued to bore her friends with her non stop chatting, which had drifted from her lessons to prolongued, one sided discussions about the school's numerous passeage ways, Schroeder's keeping her and the other Ravenclaw's up at night with his piano music and her naturally curly hair, Lucy had managed to force her way into the seat next to Schroeder.

"So, Schroeder, what were you saying about my very large mouth" Lucy asked innocently. Schroeder shuddered, even if she loved him Lucy wouldn't spare him her wrath.

"Well I-I didn't specifically say it was large, I..." Schroeder gulped, too scared to continue. Lucy was batting her eyelashes cutely, waiting for just the right moment to hit him.

While Schroeder was staring imploringly at his friends, begging them for help, Luna had taken out a magazine called the quibbler, which she was reading upside down. Charlie Brown stared oddly at her, surely she couldn't read it that way. She'd have to be either really odd or clever to read it upside down. Of course, she was in Ravenclaw, so maybe that was feesible.

Marcie, who was seated closer to Luna, leaned over to look at the magazine. Her eyebrows rose.

"Um, excuse me Luna but, could I have a read of that?" Marcie asked politely. Luna peered over the magazine at her and gladly handed it over to her.

Marcie took a long look at the third page of the magazine, feeling confused.

"Gringotts break in: what really happened?" Marcie read the heading, before speaking what was written in the article.

_"For the past two weeks, the country has been in uproar over the recent break in of Gringotts wizarding bank. Many of us are aghast at how such an event could have taken place, what with the exquisite security measures employed by our goblin friends. But is this whole scandal really what the Ministry has claimed it to be?_

_The quibbler has made no attempt to overlook the belief that our minister, Cornelius Fudge, has been abusing his power in an effort to usurp ownership of Gringotts. Yes, with all that gold hidden underground, why wouldn't Fudge, in his greedy mind, attempt to take the bank for his own personal use._

_The unfortunate demise of three goblins two years ago, widely reported by the Daily Prophet to be the result of a mine cart accident but more likely resulting from Fudge sending improperly trained security trolls to guard some of the lower vaults, has already cast the character of our minister into doubt. Would it surprise anyone if the supposed break in was not performed by a dark wizard, as is being speculated, but by a ministry employee in Fudge's dastardly efforts to discredit the goblins' ability to keep our gold safe._

_Though Fudge has always insisted that he wants nothing more than to "Co-Operate peacefully" with our goblin friends, an annonamous source from within the Minstry claims otherwise._

_"While I am unable to explicitly confirm Fudge's involvement in this break in, I certainly wouldn't put it past ol' "Goblin crusher Fudge", that's what his friends all call him" Said the Ministry insider "I'm just surprised he didn't get more violent in his invasion of the bank, with all his whispers of how many goblins he's had killed, how many he's had turned into pies. I have no doubt Fudge is responsible for this, and if not for the fear that I myself would be baked I would proudly declare my opposition to the goblin murderer"_

_It seems there is little doubt to the true nature of these unfortunate events recently. So is Fudge preparing to make his move on the bank, is he ready to begin the genocide of the goblin race, and purge Gringotts of all our hard earned gold? We'll find out soon enough"_

Marcie placed the magazine down on the table, looking flabberghasted at what she had just read. Her friends shared in her discomfort. Charlie Brown did not know much about the minister, only having heard a few comments about him from Hagrid. And while he sounded like a somewhat inept leader, Hagrid hadn't given Charlie Brown the impression he was also a devious goblin killer.

"You don't seriously believe that stuff, do you?" Patty asked incredulously, Luna nodded a few too many times.

"You've gotta be kidding, that story was the most rediculous piece of trash I've ever heard" Lucy said, trying to suppress a snort.

"My father's the editor" Luna said, her voice losing it's previous dreamy quality. Lucy blinked a few times and sank back into her chair, looking very awkward.

Luna quickly reassumed her calm and blissful demeanor, and began staring in turn at each of the Peanuts with varying levels of interest. Most of them didn't know quite what to make of her, but they all agreed she was the weirdest girl they'd ever met.

Luna stared last at Snoopy with perhaps the most interest she had shown the entire time she had been sitting with the gang. The lovable beagle was happy dancing around, stopping only to juggle more food into his mouth, including a whole chicken which he swallowed without difficulty.

"I can't see where he puts it all" Luna commented to Charlie Brown, Freida or Schroeder must have mentioned he was Snoopy's owner to her.

"Neither do I. If I let him, I'm pretty sure Snoopy could eat everything in the hall" Charlie Brown replied as Snoopy swallowed another chicken and a plate of french fries.

"Has he been eating unwashed moon tree apples, he might be playing host to ever-hungry stomach beetles. They'll devour everything he eats, once fully nourished they release a cloud of knock-out gas into the bloodstream. Best have him checked" Luna said importantly. Snoopy dropped a chicken wing he had been planning to eat and held his stomach. His face turned green and he hastily pulled out a thermometer.

"You don't have anything to worry about" Hermione informed Snoopy, looking right bothered "There's no such thing as "Ever-hungry stomach beetles" They're just imaginary"

"That's what they said about the crumple horned snorcack" Luna said dismissively.

"Well, they were right, weren't they. Those don't exist either" Hermione replied, Luna either wasn't listening or chose to ignore her. Snoopy for his part seemed to be on Luna's side, as he hastily jumped down from the table and sprinted for the door, no doubt heading for the hospital wing. Woodstock patted his own stomach tenderly and sprinted off after him.

The gang finished their lunch in silence, still a bit weary after that last awkward exchange. Luna was mostly just staring dreamily into space, eating her lunch between gazes at the ceiling, which perfectly resembled the clear blue sky outside.

"So..." Harry began, hoping to break the silence "None of you got pelted with dung bombs, I assume?"

"Yes" Peppermint Patty grumbled, Harry looked incredulously at her "We stayed away from the suit of armour you rigged, but then we ran into Peeves"

"Oh. Yeah, you might want to avoid him" Harry said, relieved. His face split into a grin and he looked like he was about to make a joke, until he noticed Patty and Violet had shot out of the seats and were glaring daggers at him.

"That was YOU!" Violet screamed, her face reddening.

"You're the reason that suit of armour spat stink bombs at us! Do you know how long it took to get that smell off us!" Patty shrieked, fists clenching. Harry began to sweat.

"Well, I um... well I-I-" Harry spluttered, watching fearfully as Violet and Patty rolled up their sleeves.

"You might want to run for it. After Lucy, Violet and Patty are the last people you want to enrage" Marcie whispered to Harry, who was all too happy to obliged. And the whole hall burst out in laughter as Harry was chased through the doors by the angry girls.

"What are the odds he lives?" Ron asked.

"If they catch him, I'd say somewhere between zero and none" Lucy remarked. A few of the gang chuckled lightly, but Luna let out a shriek of mirth that made their hair stand up.

While everyone was still a bit disturbed by Luna's laugh and the rest of the hall was still talking humorously about Harry's being chased by Violet and Patty, Schroeder checked his watch and, with nothing in the world he'd rather do with his half hour before next lesson, pulled his piano out of his robes and placed it down on the table.

"How did you do that?" Charlie Brown asked, referring to Schroeder's ability to contain a fairly large toy piano in his pocket.

"It looks like the work of an extention charm" Hermione said, observing Schroeder's pocket's, apparently caught between admiration for the skill required of Schroeder to cast such a spell and annoyance that he had broken the rules for underage magic.

"Actually I just have really deep pockets" Schroeder replied to Hermione. Everyone exchanged looks of utter confusion, but decided it was best to just forget about it.

Schroeder took a moment to concentrate his thoughts before playing his piano. Today's symphany was Beethoven's piano concerta number 32, which as always he performed perfectly despite the black keys on his piano being painted on.

Charlie Brown and friends sat back and watched Schroeder practise Beethoven's music, finding it both relaxing and envigorating. Lucy was quick to climb up on the table and take her usual place leaning on the piano, shooting Freida a smug look as she did so. The naturally curly haired girl seemed completely unphased. Ron and Hermione, who had never heard Schroeder play the piano before, were watching with absolute intrest, mesmerized by Schroeder's marvelous performous.

And they weren't the only ones. Before long every student in the hall had stopped whatever they were doing to listen to Schroeder play. Some had risen out of their seats, wanting to get a better look at the piano prodogy, a few of the girls were sending Schroeder looks of admiration. Lucy had had to shake her fist to silence a couple of Gryffindor girls who had gotten a bit too giggly towards her inrequited love interest.

Even the teachers had taken notice of Schroeder's piano playing, and needless to say they were as curious as the students. Professor Dumbledore was waving his wand to the tune of the music, he particularly enjoyed when Schroeder moved on from the first movement, Maestoso, into the second movement, Arietta, finding the contrasting tunes delightful. Charlie Brown spotted who he was sure was professor Flitwick sitting on a large stack of books. Charlie Brown had never seen anyone look more delighted.

The Great Hall burst into applause as Schroeder brought the symphany to it's dramatic conclusion, Schroeder for one didn't seem to crave the attention as Violet and Patty would have done, but he also didn't appear to disapprove. Lucy grinned widely at him, and offered a congratulatory kiss for his fine performance. Shroeder pulled the piano off the table, and Lucy's head crashed hard into his plate, which shattered into a thousand pieces before magically repairing itself. Lucy responded by giving him the punch to the face she had been saving since earlier.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Ron roared over the cheers, many of Schroeder's friends followed with their own compliments.

Luna Lovegood clapped harder and longer than anyone else. In fact, she clapped so long after everyone else had gone silent that pretty soon people from all four house tables were staring curiously at her. Despite the strange looks she was receiving Luna conitinued to clap and applaud for a full minute before calmly sitting back down.

"That was nice" Luna complimented in a dreamy sigh. Shroeder smiled awkwardly at her.

"Why are we hanging out with her again?" Schroeder whispered anxiously to Freida.

"Because she's our new friend and she's very nice" Freida said, giving Schroeder an annoyed look. For whatever reason she seemed to have become defensive of Luna.

Tiny professor Flitwick hobbled down from his stack of books and hopped his way towards where the Peanuts were seated.

"That was marvelous piano playing mr Evans, good show!" Flitwick squeaked, Schroeder looked politely flustered and scratched the back of his head.

Professor Flitwick clasped his small hands together and, barely able to contain his excitement as he said "I should inform you, in addition to my position as head of Ravenclaw house and Charms teacher, I am also the conductor of the school's choir. The choir is often accompanied by a piano player, an important position that has been left open with the graduation of Brian Conners last year. By that one performance, I can tell you'd be perfect for the role. Would you be interested in taking it up, please?"

"Well, I..." Shroeder began awkwardly, his friends motioned for him to go through with it "I don't know, I don't think Beethoven ever played for a choir at school-"

"He also wasn't a wizard, but that's not stopping you coming here! Just say yes!" Lucy screamed encouragingly. Though he frowned slightly at her tone, for once Schroeder was willing to comply with her demands.

"Ok, that sounds good" Schroeder replied to the short professor. Professor Flitwixh squealed with delight.

"Excellent! Stop by my classroom at five on Thursday, we'll introduce you to the choir and aquaint you with an appropriately sized piano. Ooh, I can't wait!" Flitwich said, positively delighted. After shaking Schroeder's hand vigorously he skipped his way back up to the staff table, breaking into excited chatter with professors McGonagall and Sprout over his new pianist.

"Only your first day here and you've already found your calling, well done Schroeder" Charlie Brown complimented, giving his long time friend a good pat on the back.

Everyone took a moment to congratulate Schroeder before Hermione gasped, having just checked her watch and declared it five mintes until lesson time.

There was a huge rush by the students to reach the doors, Schroeder and Freida shouted some quick goodbyes as they took off up the staircases, Luna followed after them skipping calmly, as though there was nothing at all wrong.

"Potions classes are just at the far end of the dungeons, the other side of the hall!" Hermione pointed out to Charlie Brown and the other Gryffindor Peanuts, taking off in a hurry.

"Good luck. You're gonna need it" Ron called as he followed after Hermione. Hopefully Harry would still be alive to join them next lesson, and Patty and Violet would be on there way to their own lesson. They wouldn't really have killed Harry though, right?

The group sprinted up to the door to the dungeons. Peppermint Patty reached out to open it, but was caught off guard as a hand shot out from the door and grabbed her nose.

"GOT YOUR CONK!" Cackled Peeves the poltergeist, who's wicked grinning face had just popped out through the door. Peppermint Patty growled furiously and made to punch him, but the poltergeist's head disappeared back through the door and she wound up injuring her hand.

Peppermint Patty made angry comments about Peeves all the way through the dungeons, which were much colder, darker and more dreary than any other part of the castle. It appeared their fellow Gryffindor first years had left lunch early, as they were already lined up by the door, albeit panting like crazy.

There were also a few Slytherins outside the classroom, Charlie Brown's stomach lerched when Neil Malfoy and his two cronies caught his eye.

"Well, if it isn't my old pal, Charlie Brown" Malfoy said sarcastically, the Slytherins laughed wickedly.

Charlie Brown looked away determindly while his friends glared at Malfoy. Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty and Marcie had gone into detail about their encounter with Malfoy on the train to each of their friends just before arriving at breakfast, and they weren't pleased with what they'd heard.

"Shove it Malfoy, weren't not in the mood for you and your trash talk" Peppermint Patty said threateningly. Malfoy grinned maliciously.

"Oh, really. That's too bad, I was just telling my friends here about what lovely, wonderful people you lot were" Malfoy said pleasantly. The slytherins laughter grew louder. Malfoy ignored the furious look on Peppermint Patty's face and stared malevolantly into Charlie Brown's eyes "I heard someone mention you can't even transfigure a match stick. Is that true Brown, are you really that pathetic? Are you and your imbred friends here really that lousy at magic?"

Charlie Brown looked miserably at his feet while the Slytherins all jeered at him.

"What a loser, can't alter a simple matchstick" Gareth cackled like a hag.

"Yeah, what a dummy" Bruno grunted in the stupidest voice imaginable.

"An utter disgrace to the name of wizard" Malfoy announced, then snidely added "But cheer up Brown, at least your bloods not quite as filthy as theirs"

Pigpen and Marcie were holding Peppermint Patty back in case she attacked Malfoy, but they felt inclined to let her pummel him. The other Gryffindor's were glaring at Malfoy in disgust while the Slytherins were in full agreement. Lucy however, having no one to restrain her, had pulled out her wand and pointed it directly at Malfoy's throat.

"Did anyone happen to mention what I did to my match during Transfiguration?" Lucy asked in a falsely sweet voice, Malfoy looked down reprochfully at her wand and nodded, his face frozen in fear as Lucy's cheshire cat grin widened "So then, I'd watch what I say if I were you, unless you want to meet the same fate"

Gareth and Bruno looked ready to pounce on Lucy and push her away from Malfoy, but held themselves back while she still had a wand to their friends throat. When Lucy finally tucked her wand away and led her friends to where the other Gryffindors were standing, the three bullies sent their angriest glares at her.

"I see what you mean Charlie Brown, that guy's a jerk" Pigpen said bitterly.

Luckily, before any more arguments could be made professor Snape strolled down the corridor and ushered them all in.

Charlie Brown had gotten the impression that Snape disliked him, but by the time this lesson was over, he would realize that wasn't the case. Snape didn't dislike Charlie Brown, he hated him.

Charlie Brown sat at a table with each of his friends, as far away from Malfoy as possible. He didn't much like this classroom, adding to the gloom and doom of the dungeon there were several horrible, slimy objects floating in jars along the shelves, which were sickening to look at. Snape began the lesson by taking the register, naturally the first name he read was:

"Charlie Brown" Snape said softly, his cold black eyes sweeping over said round headed boy "Our new-celebrity"

Malfoy and friends sniggered loudly. Snape took the register very quickly, speaking the names of the Gryffindor students with a hint more contempt than the Slytherins. When he was done calling out names he stood up and looked at his class with those dark eyes.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact arc of potion making" Snape began his introductory speech, everybody payed close attention, not wanting to get on his bad side "There will be no need for silly wand waving in my class. Naturally, you probably won't think of this as magic for that reason. I would not expect any of you to understand thebeauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnraring the senses... I can teach you to bottle victory, brew glory, even stopper death-if you are not as moronic and pitiful as the dummies I'm accustomed to teaching"

No one dared break the silence. Most of the Peanuts exchanged grim looks, Charlie Brown felt extremely nervous, but a part of him was also desparate to prove he wasn't a moron... at least, not a complete one.

"Brown!" Snape called, making the students jump "Tell me, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

_A add a powdered what to an infusion of what?_ Charlie Brown slumped down in his seat, how was he supposed to answer a question that difficult on the first day? Most of his friends were exchanging grim looks, equally stumped. Marcie had raised her hand, hoping to spare Charlie Brown of the woes that would befall him. Snape gave her a dangerous look that scared her into putting her hand down.

"Well Brown, what would I get?" Snape asked insistantly. Malfoy was staring at Charlie Brown's meek face with relish.

"I'm sorry, I don't know sir" Charlie Brown muttered sadly.

"Pitiful" Snape said, shaking his head disapprovingly. His eyes narrowed almost threateningly as he added "Let's try another question, Brown. Where would you find a bezoar?"

Charlie Brown gulped, feeling miserable as he replied "I don't know, sir"

Snape appeared to be enjoying the increasingly miserable look on Charlie Brown's face, and Malfoy was clearly enjoying the sight of Snape bringing him down.

"Tut-tut, Brown. Tut-tut" Snape said, glaring into Charlie Brown's eyes with deepest malice as he said "Here's one even a complete dope would know. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Charlie Brown supposed he must have been the biggest dope in the world, because all he could answer with as another "I don't know, sir"

Snape's lip curled into what appeared as a mix between a sneer and a devious smile.

"I see being famous doesn't count for much. Did you even so much as open a book before coming here, Brown?" Snape asked snidely. Charlie Brown felt slightly offended at that, of course he had read his books, but he couldn't remember everything he'd read in only the past two weeks.

Malfoy and his goons couldn't hold suppress there giggling anymore and nearly burst out laughing. Snape remained ignorant to them, his cold, calculating eyes still locked on Charlie Brown.

"Typical stupidity. I'll have you know Brown that asphodel and wormwood form a poweful sleeping potion known commonly as the draught of living death. A bezoar is a stone that will cure you of most poisons, found in the stomach of a goat. And, most obviously, monkshood and wolfsbane are of the same plant, known as aconite" Snape explained, taking cruel pleasure in Charlie Brown's failure. He turned swirftly and menacingly on the rest of the class "So? Why aren't you all writing that down?"

There was a rush for quills and parchment, and everyone started scribbling notes down. Peppermint Patty had messup the names of asphodel and monkshood and was whispering to Marcie for help, Snape overheard and loudly bemoaned her stupidity.

While the Slytherins were hardly bothering to whisper their rude comments about Charlie Brown while his friends tried simultaneously to snap him out of his depression, Snape assinged the class a task to make a simple, boil curing potion.

Things didn't improve much for the Gryffindors after that. Snape swept through the classroom, watching as everyone weighed dried nettles and crushed snake fangs. He critisised Charlie Brown frequently, and to a lesset extent every other student in the class, with the exception of Neil Malfoy, who he seemed slightly more fond of. Malfoy shot Charlie Brown a gloating look every time Snape praised him.

Charlie Brown honestly didn't think his potion was that bad, it wasn't quite the shade of green Snape had insisted it be, but at least it wasn't bubbling orange like Peppermint Patty's, or billowing smoke like Lucy's. The other Peanuts kept a safe distance in the event of another explosion.

To Charlie Brown's surprise, it hadn't been him who first screwed up big time. Neville's cauldron was sending off green smoke like it had already gone kaboom, and the next thing anyone knew Neville's cauldron had melted and a green, liquidy goop was slithering around the room and burning holes in peoples shoes. The kids were all forced to climb up on their stools to avoid the green mass until Snape dissolved it with a blue fluid.

"Idiot boy" Snape snarled at Neville, who's face was covered in boils and was wimpered like an injured terrier "Did I not clearly say to add the porcupine quills BEFORE taking the cauldron off the fire? Did you not understand, Longbottom? Five points from Gryffindor, for your utter display of sloth and ignorance" He glared at Terri Mcduff, who had been working with Neville, and spat "Take him to the hospital wing"

Throwing Snape a contemptuous look when he wasn't looking, Terri lead Neville out of the room, patting his back comfortingly as Neville buried his face in his hands.

Snape then turned on Charlie Brown's group, who had been sitting on the table next to Neville. Completely ignoring his friends, Snape snarled at Charlie Brown "And why, Brown, did you not tell him not to add the porcupine quills too early? That's ten points you've lost Gryffindor, don't let it happen again"

Charlie Brown clutched his stomach, the unfairness of his situation made this recent screw up feel even worse. Peppermint Patty looked ready to argue, but Marcie silenced her by slapping her hand over Patty's mouth.

And if anyone thought things could get any worse, they were wrong. While professor Snape was bullying Ginny and Alice Tolipan, who had tipped over their cauldron while staring at Charlie Brown, Snoopy had managed to sneak his way into the room and, curious about what everybody else was doing, had started mixing his own potion with Woodstock.

Charlie Brown almost spilled the contents of his own potion when he saw what Snoopy was up too. His worry only increased when he saw Snoopy wasn't really reading anything out of a text book, but just tossing a few random ingredients into his cauldron, including salamander spleens, an ice cream cone, a few drops of root beer and a cell phone.

"_Hmm... needs more eye of newt"_ Snoopy commented after sniffing the hissing red potion. Woodstock scavenged through the cupboard and tossed half a dozen newt eyes into the mix. Snoopy facepalmed.

_"I didn't mean that many Woodstock. Now we'll have to balance it out with chlorine"_ Snoopy thought irritably. From thin air he extracted a bottle of chlorine and poured it all into the potion, including the bottle.

Snape turned away from Ginny and Alice's mess on the floor and spotted Snoopy and Woodstock just as they were swirling the contents of their self-designed potion around with a wooden spoon. The spoon had dissolved almost completely by the time Snoopy pulled it out.

Looking downright furious, Snape marched up to the animals and bent down to examine their potion. A very bad mistake to make, as the potion chose that moment to bubble up and shoot out of the cauldron. Snape, Snoopy and Woodstock were doused by the greenish-purple fluids, which dissolved all the hair and feathers from their bodies.

Snoopy and Woodstock covered their lower bodies, looking embarassed, while Snape grabbed them both by the scruff of the neck and held them up in front of the class.

"To which imbicilic, irrisponsible excuse for a bad pet owner do these pathetically stupid creatures belong?" Snape asked furiously. Most of the class were shaking in their seats, eventually Charlie Brown and Marcie rose their hands, against their better judgement of course.

"That'll be another ten house points from each of you. And how about another ten for the dog and the bird" Snape said, hurling Snoopy and Woodstock face first at the door. They hardly needed telling to scarper out of the room.

Peppermint Patty finally snapped, unable to tolerate Snape's unfair treatment of Charlie Brown she ended out shouting something very rude to Snape. This lost Gryffindor an additional twenty points.

Charlie Brown was quite happy when Snape demanded the class to hand in their potions and told them to leave. His potion had changed to an unpleasant mix of green and blue after he'd accidentally dropped too many powdered snake fang into it, he didn't expect to get a good grade, but at least it couldn't lose Gryffindor any more points.

"That guy is a stuck up, foul son of a-"

"CENSORSHIP!" Marcie screamed, silencing her friend momentarily. She still looked furious however.

"How can he just take seventy five points off Gryffindor in one lesson, I doubt the whole house together hasn't made that much today. And Neville didn't do anything wrong, he just made a mistake. And he can't take points off Snoopy and Woodstock, they're not even students! And he can't take points off you two for something they did. It's just not fair!" Peppermint Patty screamed.

"I know, I had a good mind to force my potion down his throat. And I'm pretty sure that stuff was poisonous" Lucy supplied, a wicked look on her face as she imagined Snape rithing in pain, his face melting away as maggots devoured his flesh 'I've really got to stop thinking like that' She thought, disturbed by her dark sense of imagination.

Charlie Brown didn't want to join in on the conversation. He felt downright miserable, he had lost Gryffindor so many points and earned none on his first day. Added to the ten points for not telling Neville to not screw up his potion, the fourty points lost for Snoopy's potion had all been his fault since Snoopy was his dog, and Woodstock wasn't really Marcie's bird but merely Snoopy's friend. And he supposed Peppermint Patty was mainly standing up for him when she yelled, so those twenty points were probably his fault too. That was seventy points lost to Gryffindor because of him.

'Everyone's going to hate me' Charlie Brown thought, fighting back tears. So much for being popular, so much for having people actually like him. When Gryffindor house realised how many points he had lost them, he would sink to a worse social status than he'd had back home. Good grief, life was so unfair.

Not knowing where else to go, the Peanuts wandered back into the Great Hall. There were four giant hour glasses next to the teachers tables which held sand coloured to match the four houses symbols. Charlie Brown's stomach lurched when he noticed how empty the bottom half of the Gryffindor hourglass was, as opposed to the others. Slytherin must have had eighty points already.

Charlie Brown and friends sat down in their usual seats, most of them complaining about Snape while Charlie Brown just felt miserable.

"Hey kids, 'ow's it goin'?" Came the familiar voice of Hagrid the groundskeeper.

"Hi Hagrid" The gang said in unison.

"Alright Charlie? Yeh look a bit down" Hagrid said, noticing Charlie Brown's miserable state.

"Potions didn't go so well" Charlie Brown sighed, Hagrid looked very understanding.

"Ah, I see. What did Snape say?" hagrid asked seriously.

"Well, apart from calling us all stupid and aking a fool out of Chuck he took seventy five points off Gryffindor" Peppermint Patty spat.

"WHAT" Hagrid bellowed so loudly it knocked the Peanuts right out of their seats "Well what'd he do that fer!"

And the kids described their previous lesson to Hagrid, how Snape had asked Charlie Brown questions he knew he couldn't answer to humiliate him, how he had scolded Neville for creating a living blob of acidic goop, and how Snoopy and Woodstock's botched potion had lost them the most points ever lost in a single lesson.

"Now tha's not fair. Yeh all oughta tell professor Dumbledore about this, I'm sure he'll sort it out" Hagrid encouraged.

"I'd rather not, I shudder to think what professor Snape would do to me if I reported him to the headmaster" Charlie Brown replied, he really was shuddering.

Hagrid looked like he wanted to argue, but his better judgement caused him to merely accept Charlie Brown's decision.

"Still, seven'y five points. Tha's an outrage" Hagrid growled, when he had composed himself he added "Oh, by the way, how would yeh all like ter come down ter me hut fer a cuppa. I've got some owls ready ter send back ter yer families"

If only slightly enlightened by this news, Charlie Brown and friends gladly agreed to follow Hagrid out of the castle. In the Entrance hall they were joined by Violet, Patty, Freida, Schroeder and Luna. After asking the former two if they had let Harry live ("Maybe" They had said, staring innocently at the ceiling) the extended gang set off out the door into the school grounds.

Hagrid's hut resided at the edge of the forbidden forest, a fairly long walk through green fields and past the black lake. The giant squid that had saved Charlie Brown's life was basking in the sunlight at the edge of the lake. Charlie Brown pulled "Joe Cool" away from a group of irritated sixth year girls he was flexing his non existent muscles to at the edge of the lake. Pigpen blushed and complimented the girls on their swimsuits... they ran off screaming.

"All in all, I very much like my filth. What I don't like is that girls never give me a chance" Pigpen moped.

"As if we would" Violet commented rudely.

"Yeah, what sane girl would want so much to hold hands with a dust magnet like you Pigpen" Patty added, and both girls burst out in laughter while Hagrid shook his head disapprovingly.

"I think it gives him a rugged charm" Luna said kindly, giving Pigpen a dreamy smile. Underneath all the dirt, Pigpen's face turned red and he sighed. Violet, Patty and Lucy looked revolted at Luna.

Hagrid's hut had one large, circular room and was absolutely huge. Hams and pheasants hung from the ceiling, the was a fireplace, an extra large table and in the corner was an enormous bed with a patchwork quilt.

"This is where you live?" Asked Schroeder, Hagrid nodded proudly.

"Doesn't seem very cosy" Freida commented, staring at the bed and the hanging hams. Snoopy was also staring at them, licking his lips

"It's cumfy enough" Hagrid shrugged "Do yeh take yer tead strong or with lotsa milk?"

Hagrid poured a cup of tea for each of the Peanuts and Luna and sat them all down at the table. An enormous boarhound bounded out from under the bed, Hagrid restrained him for a while until he had calmed down enough. Charlie Brown supposed this was Fang, the dog Hagrid had mentioned in Diagon Alley. Fang appeared very friendly, as he spent most of his time licking Charlie Brown and friends.

"Don't even think about it" Lucy snarled, Fang had covered Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty and Marcie in slobber and she did not want to experience the same fate. Fang howled disappointedly.

_"I share your pain my friend"_ Snoopy thought, patting Fang's shoulder comfortingly.

_"Thank you for your kindness_" Fang thought back in an accent befitting of the king of England _"It's a pleasure to meet you my fine chap"_ He added, drenching Snoopy with one of his slobbery licks. Snoopy looked revolted while Woodstock laughed hysterically, at least until Fang added _"You too, good sir"_ And licked him. Woodstock nearly drowned in drool.

While the gang sipped their tea Hagrid took out a plate of rock cakes and handed them out. Charlie Brown took one bite and almost broke his teeth, but he and everybody else was too polite to turn them away. Well, almost everyone, Luna quite plainly told Hagrid they were too hard and she couldn't eat them.

"Sorry 'bout that. I've never known anything wrong with 'em" Hagrid said, staring curiously at the returned rock cake. He shrugged and stuffed it into his mouth before opening a nearby cupboard. Out flew nine different coloured owls, which soared around the room so fast all that could be seen were colourful blurs.

"These here are called Flash owls, they 'ave a top speed of five 'undred and seven'y miles an hour. They're normally bred fer inter-continental travel, which is why Dumbledore 'ad the ministry loan us a few. Yeh can use em as much as yeh like ter keep in touch with yer families" Hagrid explained as the speedy owls dropped down gracefully onto the table.

After everyone had had a chance to stroke and admire the owls, Hagrid began arranging them by colour. The yellow owl was for use by Charlie Brown, the green owl by Peppermint Patty, the orange one by Marcie, the blue by Lucy, the black by Schroeder, the purple by Violet, the pink by Patty, the brown by Pigpen and the red by Freida.

With the colour coding sorted the Peanuts began excitedly scribbling their first letters home. Charlie Brown made sure to include every little detail of his day in the letter, knowing Sally would berate him if he didn't, and made sure to mention just how much he missed them his family. When he was done he folded the letter into an envelope and handed it to the yellow owl, which zipped off out the window before Charlie Brown could so much as blink.

Eight colourful blurs sped out the doors one by one as each of the kids, sans Luna, finished their letters and sent them off.

"Aren't you writing to your family Luna?" Freida asked.

"Oh yes, daddy sends me letters along with my copy of the quibbler. He was really sad to see me leave, but we'll see each other again soon" Luna replied, staring serenly at a pheasant hanging above her head.

"What about your mom?" Asked Marcie.

"Oh, she died two years ago" Luna replied off handedly. Those present wore grim looks at this statement, Peppermint Patty reached out and patted Luna's arm tenderly, knowing very well what it was like to not have a mother.

"That's sad. How did she die?" Freida asked. She almost hit herself, feeling really rude for asking that.

"Oh, well she was quite an extraordinary witch, you know, but she did like to experiment. Then one day when I was nine one of her spells went horribly wrong. I was watching from the doorway" Luna answered in a conversational tone. Despite her calmness on the matter, and her eccentric personality, Charlie Brown and friends just couldn't help but feel very, very sorry for her.

"I'm sorry" Said, of all people, Violet.

"It was rather dreadful, I do still feel very sad about it sometimes" Luna sighed "But I've still got dad, and anyway, I'll see her again someday. So it's alright"

The Peanuts shot Luna sympathetic smiles and Hagrid leaned down to pat her shoulder comfortably. Luna was pushed right back onto the floor in her chair.

"Sorry" Hagrid said, helping Luna up. Despite her fall Luna retained her usual serene expression.

"So, what are your families like?" Luna asked pleasantly.

The gang spent the next half an hour discussing their families talking about their families, Lucy spending ten minutes of it complaining about having to put up with two brothers. When Lucy had asked Hagrid to divulge his heritage however, the giant man avoided the subject by offering everyone more tea.

"By the way Hagrid, did you hear about the break-in at Gringotts?" Charlie Brown asked. Hagrid dropped the tea kettle in surprise.

"Yes-what about it?" Hagrid asked, not quite meeting Charlie Brown's eye.

"Do you..." Peppermint Patty began, carefully considering what she would say "Do you know what they might have been after?"

Hagrid avoided the many curious eyes of the Peanuts and started talking about the weather.

"Blimy, is it tha' late already?" Hagrid said, noticing the sun starting to set outside "Better get you lot back up ter the castle. I'll take yeh, that ol' git Filch an' his horrid cat'll be after yeh if yeh all go alone"

The kids giggled at Hagrid's nickname for Filch and followed him out the door. Charlie Brown had to rush back in and yank Snoopy off a ham and got slobbered over by Fang.

Charlie Brown was now quite certain the Gringotts thief had been after that grubby little package Hagrid had taken from vault number seven hundred and thirteen. However, it was also pointless to ask Hagrid why, because he would not reveal what the package had been.

"Alrigh', I'll see yeh all termorrow I 'ope. Normally I'd 'ave me dinner in the hall, but Fang's been getting lonely lately. Have a good night" Hagrid told the Peanuts as he led them into the entrance hall.

"Bye Hagrid, see you tomorrow" Charlie Brown waved.

"Yeah, see ya Hagrid"

"Bye Hagrid"

"See you tomorrow"

"He seems friendly. But do you think he's got giganticonis? I do, it would explain why he's so tall" Luna said with a hum. Nobody asked what giganticonis was meant to be, instead Freida just started chatting to her while the group all headed to the Gryffindor table for dinner.

"You know, I think Freida likes having Luna around just because she'll put up with her talking" Schroeder whispered to Charlie Brown as, slighly further away from the group, Freida talked on and on about random stuff to Luna, mostly her curls.

In a flash the house tables were covered in delicious food, and the gang wasted no time in filling their plates. Snoopy seemed to have gotten over his fear of ever-hungry stomach beetles residing inside him, and was eating everything in sight. Woodstock settled for a few french fries from Marcie.

"Boy, what a day, huh Chuck?" Peppermint Patty sighed.

"I guess we have an idea of what life's gonna be like for us from now on. Are we all ok with it so far?" Pigpen asked. The Peanuts placed thoughtful fingers to their chins, after a moments humming they all replied "Sure"

Ron and Hermione arrived at the table shortly after, followed by Harry. Charlie Brown was relieved to see him alive, and even more so to see he wasn't heavily wounded, though he still looked traumatised and avoided Violet and Patty as best he could.

"So, how you like your first day?" Harry asked Charlie, sitting five seats away.

"I don't know. I guess I liked most of it, but I don't think I have any talent as a wizard" Charlie Brown replied sadly, remembering his poor attempts at transfiguring a matchstick "And professor Snape hates me"

Harry stared sympathetically at Charlie Brown and, with a fleeting look at the hourglasses, asked "How many points he take from you then"

"Seventy five" Charlie Brown muttered miserably.

"HE WHAT!" Ron yelled in outrage, and when Lucy and Marcie had explained that days potions lesson Harry, Ron and Hermione looked downright furious.

"But that's not fair, you didn't do anything wrong!" Hermione said, she shot an awkward glance at Peppermint Patty "Well, most of you anyway"

"I told you he was a git. But man, seventy five points-I mean, sure I've lost a lot of points, that time I turned the Charms class into a swamp I lost loads, but never that many" Harry said angrily, Charlie Brown sighed and plopped his head down miserably onto the table "I'm not taking the mickey out of you, I'm just saying, that many points ain't right. Don't worry, next time I have a lesson for Snape I have a little surprise ready for him"

Harry rubbed his hands together in the same manner as an evil villain initiating his latest nefarious plan, he exchanged mischievous looks with Ron while Hermione shook her head disapprovingly. Charlie Brown got the feeling this was a common occurance.

The rest of the Peanuts had fun badtalking Snape with Harry's group, Charlie Brown settled for just eating his food and watching Snoopy parade around the table doing his happy dance. The dogs dancing earned him many adoring fans among the Gryffindors.

About halfway through dinner the doors to the Great Hall burst open and Louis Mcduff sprinted into the room pushing a wheeled table covered by a cloth, yelling "I've done it, I'VE DONE IT!"

Louis stopped in front of the staff table, jumping about happily like a lunatic.

"I did it, I really did it this time!" Louis announced, the teachers and many of the students groaned. Clearly this was another common occurance. Louis spotted Snape, with a wide grin he rushed up to him.

"You didn't think I could do it, but I did" Louis said smugly, beeping Snape on the nose. Snape snarled like a wild cat and Louis shot back. He quickly regained his cheerful disposition however.

"I did it!"

"Did what, Louis?" McGonagall asked, looking like she'd rather not.

"I've finally done it Minerva, I've perfected my latest invention" Louis replied exstatically, turning to face the rest of the hall "Ladies and gentlemen, and anthropomorphic dogs and birds! I present to you, my greatest triumph, the worlds first, magically operated-" Louis pulled the sheets off the table dramatically "Toaster!"

There was silence, but not the kind Louis had been counting on. The students were all staring oddly at the toaster, which looked pretty normal. On the other side of the table from Charlie Brown, Terri Mcduff facepalmed, looking very embarassed. The teacher all looked annoyed, with the exception of Dumbledore, who looked quite curious.

"Are you quite certain this time Louis?" Professor Sprout asked hesitantly.

"Yes, I'm certainly certain Permona" Louis replied happily "You see people, we wizards have made many great advancements over the years in terms of spell casting. However, in terms of technology, we're still relatively medieval. We still lack television and microwaves for crying out loud. We have a nice radio, yeah, but we also lack toasters, like muggles have. Whenever we want toast, we have to cook it on a frying pan

"That is why, with permission from the ministry of magic, I have invented a wizarding version of the toaster that runs on magic. Can't have electrical appliances here you know, they short circuit when surrounded by so much magic. I've gone through much trial and error, but now I've finally done it. Let me demonstrate" Louis concluded.

The teachers and nearest students ducked under their tables as Louis dropped a bit of break into the toaster and flipped the switch. Five seconds later there was a ding, and the bread popped back out. Only it wasn't bread now, it was toast.

The whole hall, sans Charlie Brown and the Peanuts, who all looked unimpressed, stared in astonishment as Louis took a bit out of one of the toast slices.

"And how does it taste?" Dumbledore asked, Louis replied with a thumbs up, munching happily at the toast. The students broke out into excited chatter.

"I don't believe it, one of Mcduff's inventions actually works" Snape said, looking disappointed the toaster hadn't disintegrated Louis with a lazer beam.

"Well belive it Sev!" Louis cheered, ducking as Snape tossed a medieval flail at his head "I have just given wizards the tool to make perfect toast. I'll be famous, I'll make millions. I WILL MAKE HISTORY, AS THE GREATEST WIZARDING INVENTOR WHO EVER LIVED!" Louis announced to the heavens.

"It's only a toaster" Lucy called simply. The students burst out into a fit of giggles, but Louis seemed unphased.

"Whatever. I'm just so proud of my beautiful invention" Louis said, giving the magic toaster a hug. The toaster began to issue smoke.

"Um, Louis. You might want to take a closer look at that toaster" Professor Flitwick squeakd urgently.

Louis complied and, realising the smoke coming from his invention he made to throw the toaster away. But he was too late, and the toaster exploded in his face. The whole hall was obscured by the smoke, everyone coughed as the foul gas seeped through the windows. When all was clear they saw Louis covered from head to foot in soot and burns, the charred remains of the toaster still in his outstretched hands.

"Back to the old drawing board, eh Mcduff?" Snape asked in an unusually cheerful tone.

"One of these days Sev, one of these days" Louis sighed, heading for the door. He stopped briefly to give hugs to Charlie Brown and the majority of his friends "Thank you so much for taking my lessons by the way, I can't tell you how much that means to me. Oh, and heya Terri, how's my favourite nephew doing! Here, your mom sent me this" Louis added tossing Terri a package "Odd that you forgot teddy boo boo, we all know you can't sleep without him. See you soon pal"

Terri sunk down into his seat as the rest of the Gryffindor's laughed at him. Louis Mcduff smiled and waved fondly at his nephew before skipping out the doors.

"And some people wonder why I'm embarassed by him" Terri muttered in exhasperation to Charlie Brown.

Shortly after the incident with the exploding toaster, Dumbledore rose up in his chair and announced it was time for bed.

Charlie Brown and friends followed Percy up the staircase. Neil Malfoy and his friends sent him very rude hand gestures that had caused professor McGonagall, who had seen, to take thirty points from Slytherin. Charlie Brown couldn't stop himself from smiling.

"Bye Charlie Brown, see you tomorrow friend!" Violet and Patty called as the Hufflepuffs departed, emphasising the word friend so every other student heard it.

"You really need to tell her off for taking advantage of you Chuck" Peppermint Patty said sternly. Charlie Brown kept quiet.

Schroeder, Freida and Luna departed with the other Slytherin's, bidding their goodbyes as they disappeared around the corner. Charlie Brown made sure Snoopy and Woodstock were following him and continued upwards with the rest of the Gryffindors.

"Fortuna Magor" Percy told the portrait of the fat lady, who swung forward to allow entrance into the Gryffindor common room.

Charlie Brown and friends sank into some of the beanbags next to the fire, sighing in relief.

"This sure has been one heckuva first day, huh guys" Pigpen said, his friends nodded at this statement.

"And life only gets madder from here" Ron said cheerfully.

"Enjoy these fleeting times of sanity, after the first week, life at Hogwarts just gets crazier by the minute" Harry added, everyone chuckled.

Charlie Brown stared whistfully into the roaring fire as his friends talked enthusiastically over what would await in the following days. Life at Hogwarts was shaping up to be very strange indeed. Charlie Brown could have really done without the potions lessons, but even so he was, for a change, pretty happy with how his life was going. Sure, maybe he wasn't very good at magic so far, but he would learn, that's what school was for. And he'd already made some new friends, even if Luna was a bit odd he still felt he could like knowing her. And tomorrow he would be getting mail from his family, just like all the other students did this morning. And so Charlie Brown thought, as he turned in for the night, as long as he had his friends and he watched out for Snape, life at Hogwarts might just turn out good for him.

'So long as I don't lose a hundred points the next time I have potions, then everybody will hate me and I'll feel miserable' Charlie Brown thought dejectedly.

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><p><strong>Tiger lover 16: Ok, here's chapter five, not counting the prologue. Ok, I added many story points here, Snoopy's rivalry with Mrs Norris, Luna's addition to the gang and Schroeder's becoming piano player for the Hogwarts choir being just a few of the biggest ones. I know in the film the choir doesn't have a piano player, so sue me. I do feel this was a bit rushed, and I don't think I handled certain characters correctly. I'm still worried I messed up with Luna, and I think I may have overdid it with Snape's cruelty, but I did my best. If the chapter still isn't very good then I'm very sorry, and I'll try to do better next time. That ending I'm definitely not proud of, and I do wish I could have included Fred and George. I actually planned a scene for the twins, but it got cut because it didn't fit in anywhere and just didn't feel good enough.<strong> **I'll introduce them next chapter. I still have a bit of set up to get do to be honest, but that'll be quick to take care of, and I have a lot of fun stuff planned for the future. The next chapter could take a lot longer to write though, so this time you'll have to be patient. I'm very grateful you all enjoy this story, there is no greater joy in my life than knowing people enjoy my writing. I hope to see you all soon, and please review.**


	7. Another day at Hogwarts, Charlie Brown

**Tiger lover 16: Well... here I am, back again. Sorry it took me so long, I've been busy, and to be honest this was a tough chapter to write. Just to let you know, most of this chapter is pretty much filler. There's no real plot to it, it's just demonstrating what a typical Saturday at Hogwarts might be like, and to catch up on the first week briefly. Mostly here I just threw in a few jokes and scenes I'd been planning for a while, as well as writing more for certain characters. What's the point of doing a Peanuts-Harry Potter crossover if you can't play around a little, right? Next chapter will do more to further the plot, but right now we're still in the early stages of the story. Again, do largely to the filler nature of the chapter, I don't know if it's really that good. Some parts to me feel out of place and I could have done much better, but I honestly tried my hardest. I had to edit a few things and cut certain scenes I felt didn't fit in anywhere, which resulted in some characters appearing absent from the chapter or just having little to do. Whether you enjoy this chapter is up to you of course, but forgive me if it's not terrific. I promise I'll try to do better with the next chapter. Anyways, enjoy.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6, Just another day at Hogwarts, Charlie Brown<strong>

It was a quiet Saturday morning at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. At this time most of the students were still tucked away in their beds. The only people wadering the corridors were Argus Filch and Mrs Norris, both keeping their eyes out for troublemakers, and setting off traps set by Peeves.

Charlie Brown himself was quite alone in the Gryffindor common room this morning, sat in an armchair by the table writing a letter, as the yellow flash owl, dubbed Lightning by Peppermint Patty, was perched above on the arm of the chair. The owls had so far only delivered two letters home and one letter back, because on Tuesday Neil Malfoy had bribed Peeves to capture the owls in mid flight and stuff them in a closet somewhere. When the Peanuts gang found out most of them gathered to slug the Slytherin boy.

Charlie Brown felt conflicted, he was sort of glad the owls lack of appearances this first week wasn't just because his family weren't bothering to write to him, but then again he still felt nervous to write back now since he'd been forced to break his promise to Sally to write every day. But of course, it wasn't really his fault, mom and dad could talk some sense into her if she got too angry, right.

Charlie Brown dipped his quill in his bottle of ink again, he had spent the whole night learning how to use it without smudging his whole parchment. His handwriting was still messy, but better than his penmanship by far. Now that he could finally write properly with his quill, Charlie Brown bit down on his lip and thought hard about what he would put into his letter.

_"Dear Mom, Dad and Sally"_ Charlie Brown began, he thought again, knowing Sally would expect every detail of his first week.

_"I hope you are all doing well, I'm sorry you haven't been getting any of my letters, my owl had been_ _captured and locked away by bullies. Now that I can write again, I can tell you everything that's been happening._

_Well, It's been a hectic week I guess. Most of my lessons have been pretty good, except for that potions lesson I mentioned before. I am so glad I only have that once a week. I think my favourite lesson is charms, in our second lesson on thursday I actually managed to make a feather float an inch... but then it got lodged in my eye. I'm alright, madam Pomfrey is a great nurse. Most of my lessons have been good though, not that I'm particularly talented at anything, but at least I didn't cause a dozen explosions in Defense Against the Dark Arts like Lucy. I'm worried professor Quirrel is going to have a heart attack pretty soon._

_There are a lot of interesting things about the castle, one of the most unusual being the ghosts. Most of them are pretty friendly, but I try to avoid the Bloody Baron, he's the Slytherin ghost and he's really menacing. Nick's good though, he helps us get to classes, without him I wouldn't have made it to half of them this week._

_There's also a poltergeist named Peeves, he likes pulling really mean pranks on everyone. He seems to find particular delight in torturing Peppermint Patty. So far this week he's grabbed her nose ten times, he's replaced her pumpkin juice with toilet water, pulled at every rug she's walked on so that she falls over, put purple hair dye in her shampoo and a whole lot of other things that would take too much room for me to write. I feel really bad for her, but to be honest I'm also a bit glad it's not me Peeves annoys the most. Probably because I don't throw my shoes through him when he pranks me._

_Apart from Peeves we also have to deal with Neil Malfoy, who by the way is the boy who's been stopping my owl from delivering letters. He really hates me, he insults me over every little detail, makes fun of my every shortcoming and isn't too polite to my friends. Mudbloods, he calls them, and it really hurts when I hear him say that and can't pluck up the courage to speak back to him. His bodyguards Gareth and Bruno are real bullies too. I don't know what to do about them, I try avoiding them but they always find me when they want to bring me down._

_But neither of them can compare to Professor Snape. I don't know why, but the man hates my guts. He treats all the students that aren't in Slytherin badly, especially us Gryffindors, but with me it's just... I don't know how to describe it, it's like he gets a neurotic pleasure from making me as miserable as can be. I'm beginning to think he's stalking me, I always run into him in the hallways so that he starts critisizing and insulting me. I didn't do anything to him, but he hates me anyway. Luckily he's only taken thirty more points off Gryffindor this week._

_But don't get me wrong, not everyone here hates me (As shocking as that sounds). I've actually made a lot of friends so far. First of all there's Harry Potter, who's a year ahead of me. I don't know if you know them dad, but Harry's parents Lily and James were old friends of mine and Sally's other parents. Harry wrote back to them about me, and they were so nice they sent me a hand knitted red scarf with my name written on it in gold letters. I don't know if I deserve it, I've never done anything to earn their trust. Harry's a nice guy, and he actually seems to want to be friends with me. He's a bit of a joker too, don't tell anybody I wrote this but he bewitched an accordion to follow Snape around everywhere and keep playing it's annoying tune. The teachers still haven't found out how to un-jynx it, and Snape's threatening to murder whoever set it upon him._

_After Harry there's Ron Weasley. He comes from an all wizarding family with five brothers and one sister, two of his brothers have left school and Ginny Weasley's in my class. Ron's a great guy, really friendly and funny, and he's introduced us all to a lot of wizard-world concepts. No one can beat him at wizards chess, which is where the pieces actually come to life and smash each other. Ron's family owl Errol I could do without seeing though, he keeps crashing into me when bringing Ron's mail._

_There's Hermione Granger as well, she's a pretty and smart girl in Harry and Ron's class who helps me and my friends with our homework. And before you say anything Sally, NO, I do not like her, she doesn't like me, and I am not going to kiss her! Hermione's one of the most friendly girls I know, she can be strict though and doesn't approve of rule breaking, but she's usually pretty understanding._

_Perhaps most importantly there's Luna Lovegood (Sally, see the above statement with Hermione). At first I thought Luna was just really weird, actually I still do, but over the week I've gotten to know her better and she really is a nice person. Everyone else feels so too, and though it's not exactly official, Luna's basically becoming the unofficial newest member to the Peanuts. We'll discuss the matter with Linus, Shermy, Franklin and you too Sally when next we come home. Pigpen seems to have something of a crush on her after she gave him a compliment earlier this week. I just hope he's not setting himself up for future disappointment, I know how that feels._

_I've also gotten to know a lot of students in my class, I suppose you could say I'm on friendly terms with Neville, Terri Mcduff, I sorta know Ginny and I even have my own fan, Colin Creevey. I know, crazy right? And guess what, I've even met my penpal Morag. She's in Hufflepuff. Morag's very friendly, whenever she sees me she greets me with a big hug. I really like spending time with her._

_Snoopy's doing alright here, but he keeps getting into trouble. On Tuesday he found his way into the kitchens, while we don't know the exact details he seems to have been trying to pilfer food and got into a fight with whoever was cooking the Hogwarts feasts. According to most reports, Snoopy won. Lucy managed to "Convince" Me to punish Snoopy by denying him supper that night. I've never seen him more miserable._

_That didn't seem to have put a halt to his antics though, on Wednesday Snoopy and Woodstock broke into the broom cupboards and went joyriding around the roofs on a racing broom. I don't know how they managed it, but they crashed it into the whomping willow. How they got out of there alive, I also don't know, but I do know that I had to pay for a new broomstick._

_Everyone else is doing fine. Lucy's still blowing things up every time she waves her wand, Pigpen's still dirty and proud of it and Marcie's top of every class (Well, almost, I think Pigpen has her beat in Herbology). Schroeder's become the piano player for the school choir, I've hardly seen him at all this week since he's been so busy practising. The choir sings a song for us on Friday at breakfast, while Schroeder plays his piano alongside them. Yesterday they sang Double Double, Toil and Trouble while Schroeder played some fittingly creepy music that clearly wasn't any composition of Beethoven's. He was really disappointed, but he cheered up when professor Flitwick told him he could improvise some Beethoven in the future._

_Peppermint Patty's been doing mostly alright in her classes, but yesterday she started falling asleep in class again. We all had to take turns waking her up. I suppose now that we all understand the routine at this school, her body clock's gone out of control again. I hope she doesn't sleep through potions, professor Snape would kill us all if she did._

_Freida probably has the best friendship with Luna out of us all, these days you seldom see the two of them apart. They're like the new Peppermint Patty and Marcie._

_And guess what, you might not believe this, but... oh wait dad, I guess you would have guessed. Well, I can't believe it, but I'm the most popular kid in school. I feel really strange because almost everyone here likes me, though I must confess it's disturbing having everyone stare at me all the time. They're not staring as much now as they did when I first got here, but all the other students think I'm some sort of celebrity. I really don't know what to think about this, it's nice to feel appreciated, but I still don't think I deserve any of this. I still don't know how I could have stopped Voldemort from killing Sally and me, but they all like me for it anyway. I just hope I don't screw up like I always do._

_I'm sorry this letter is so long. What I really want to know right now is how you're all doing. Mom, Dad, Sally, I really miss you all and I can't wait to see you all again. Has everything been alright at home? How's school going for you Sally, I hope you're not putting Linus under too much stress. I really hope everything's alright at home, and again I really miss you all and hope to hear from you soon._

_With lot's of love,_

_Charlie"_

Charlie Brown looked over his letter with a thoughtful frown. It didn't turn out quite like he'd hoped, the ending felt a bit rushed and most of it seemed pointless. He had purposefully left out the part about Violet and Patty "Being nice" To him to achieve greater popularity, he knew they wouldn't like to hear that. But that left a bit of a hole in his writing, he had mentioned all his other friends, wouldn't they suspect something if he left out what Violet and Patty were doing. And there was a lot more he could have put into it, he could have further described how much he missed his family, and how he loved them all so much.

Charlie Brown thought about re-editing the letter, but Lightning the Flash owl had hopped on top of his letter and was hooting impatiently. Charlie Brown supposed owls of his speed had little patience, and he had been up all night figuring how to write this letter, so it was understandable Lightning would want to hurry up and deliver it. With a small sigh of regret, Charlie Brown took his letter, folded it carefully into an envelope and attatched it to the owl's leg.

Looking delighted that he could finally begin his ocean spanning flight, Lightning stretched out his wings and zipped out the window so fast that Charlie Brown fell out of his seat when his eyes tried to follow the blur.

"Charlie Brown, have you been down here all night?" Charlie Brown needn't ask who was speaking, the dust cloud surrounding his head was enough answer.

"Yes Pigpen, I've been awake all night writing my letter home to my family" Charlie Brown replied though many wide yawns.

"You do realize it only took the rest of us five minutes last night to write our letters?" Pigpen asked, looking concerned at the bags under Charlie Brown's eyes, which had grown to such size they reached past his mouth.

Charlie Brown sighed and felt like going to sleep right here on the floor. But...

"Rise and shine Chuck!" Peppermint Patty declared, grabbing Charlie Brown's hand and yanking him unsteadily to his feet.

"Morning Patty" Charlie Brown groaned sleepily.

"What you doing sleeping down here Chuck? Ah well, doesn't matter. Let's go get Breakfast before all the good stuff's taken" Peppermint Patty said eagerly. Charlie Brown sighed, resigned to his fate and hoping he'd be able to sleep a bit afterwards.

Soon after, Peppermint Patty led the Peanuts out of the Gryffindor common room. Lucy still had her nightcap on and Pigpen was carrying a sleeping Scabbers on top of his head. He was quickly tackled to the floor by a certain ginger cat.

"Can't you do anything to stop him attacking me?" Pigpen asked Patty irritably, grabbing Scabbers and stuffing him down his shirt before Crookshanks could grab him. Crookshanks proceeded to slash at Pigpen's chest, but stopped when Peppermint Patty pulled a mackrel out of her pocket. Crookshank's eyes darted to the mackrel, his ears perked and he licked his lips. After giving his owner an adorable, pleading look Peppermint Patty tossed the fish aside and allowed Crookshanks to pounce on and devour it.

"How's that?" Peppermint Patty asked, continuing down the hallway before Pigpen could answer.

Charlie Brown's tired state caused him to bump into everything from cupboards to suits of armour ("Oi, watch it boy-o") and he fell down each staircase the gang encountered. When the Peanuts finally reached the Great Hall, Charlie Brown collapsed into his bowl of cereal.

"Didn't sleep well Charles?" Marcie asked in concern while Snoopy and Woodstock lifted Charlie Brown's head out of his cereal.

"He didn't sleep at all, he stayed up all night writing his letter home. He really does need to sleep" Pigpen emphasised that part towards Peppermint Patty, who looked a bit guilty as Charlie Brown tried weakly to keep his head up.

"Charlie Brown's the only person I know who could stay up all night writing a letter" Lucy muttered to herself, reaching for a plate of pumpkin pasties. She put them back when she noticed Scabbers the rat lounging on them, looking revolted.

Snoopy and Woodstock continued to support Charlie Brown's head right up until the owls arrived, right on cue Errol flew straight into Charlie Brown's face and knocked him backwards onto the floor.

"If Percy weren't so uptight about me using his owl Hermes we wouldn't have this problem" Ron commented as he, Harry and Hermione arrived at the table.

With whatever strength he had left Charlie Brown lifted the decrepit owl off his face and placed him gently down on the table before falling onto the floor again.

"I'm guessing he had a rough night" Said Harry, observing the snoring Charlie Brown.

"Not one wink of sleep as far as we know" Marcie replied. Hermione looked down sympathetically at Charlie Brown and began rummaging through the pockets of her robes.

"Here, this ought to help" Hermione said, extacting a vial of blue liquid. She poured a few drops of the liquid into Charlie Brown's mouth, before anyone knew it the round headed boy had leapt to his feet, the bags beneath his eyes vanished and he felt more awake than he had all week.

"Wow, thank you. I feel great" Charlie Brown said, shocking everyone as he did a back flip over the table and back.

"What the heck did you give him?" Lucy asked, unable to comprehend Charlie Brown's display of atheltic perfection.

"A few drops of invigoration draught. I made it in potions yesterday, I thought it would come in handy" Hermione said, looking pleased with her potions affects as she stored the bottle away again.

"And yet you never make me anything good" Ron said grumpily.

"Ron, I'm not going to meet your request for a plate full of chocolate chip cookies" Hermione said sternly.

"Why not, we could all go for some" Pigpen said, his friends nodded eagerly.

"Have you seen Hermione cook?" Harry began, looking grim "I have, and Ron, you should consider yourself lucky she doesn't agree to do it for you. You wouldn't live long afterwards"

No one was quite sure whether or not this was Harry's idea of a friendly joke about Hermione, but the awkward look on her face did make them wonder...

Still feeling like he could run a maraphon, Charlie Brown gulped down his breakfast faster than anyone, including Snoopy. The beagle looked rather grumpy at being out-eaten by his owner, but thought nothing to protest.

While Charlie Brown's flash owl was probably soaring over the sea by now, the owls for the other Gryffindor Peanuts arrived along with Hedwig. Charlie Brown lost some of his potion induced enthusiasm and looked away as his friends began excitedly reading their letters from home.

"Dad say's he's doing alright at the house, but he really, really misses me and hopes I'm having a good time" Peppermint Patty told Marcie, who was reading her own letter with a nervous expression "What did your folks say?"

"They say they're proud I'm the best student in class, but that I need to try harder and do perfectly, get top grades, dedicate as much time as physically possible to studying, and a lot of similar remarks" Marcie sighed, tossing the letter back onto the table "I never thought I'd say this sir, but, I wish I were you"

While Charlie Brown wouldn't know it, Pigpen was looking very pleased with his letter, which he had even felt joyful enough to give it a hug. He panicked and tried urgently to wipe off the dirt.

Lucy ripped open her envelope and swept through her letter. Her eyes widened at what she was reading and she set the letter down with a groan.

"What's wrong?" Asked Hermione.

"It's my brother Rerun, apparently he's been suspended from school for harassing that little pigtailed girl again" Lucy muttered, to concerned looks from her friends.

"Well what did he say?" Peppermint Patty asked.

"He told her she was cute and that he liked her new braids" Lucy complained, the other kids exchanged weird looks.

"That's harrasment?" Harry asked oddly.

"It is according to the American school system" Lucy replied simply.

Everyone finished reading their letters and quickly scribbled down their replies. Unlike Charlie Brown, who had really thought his letter through and wrote a lot, most of the Peanuts just wrote really quickly about whatever was on their minds right now before attatching their letters to the flash owls' legs. The owls zoomed out the window at breakneck speed, leaving a strong tailwind. Hedwig was once again required to carry Errol back to Ron's family and Hermione's newspaper owl was again grumpy it didn't get a mouse to eat.

"So, the weekend is finally here... now what do we do?" Asked Peppermint Patty cluelessly.

"Whatever you want. No lessons today, so just walk about the castle and do whatever you want. They say you should stay in the common room, but that's just a suggestion" Ron explained.

"Well what's there to do around here?" Charlie Brown asked.

"What's there to do?"

"Lot's of things, Charlie, lot's of things"

Charlie Brown turned to see Ron's older twin brothers, Fred and George Weasley, who looked completely indistinguishable from one another. Charlie Brown supposed they were alright, they were big pranksters like Harry, with whom they seemed to share a friendly rivalry in joke playing. Just last night they had filled Draco Malfoy's soup with diarhoea-inducing potion.

"Hey Fred" Charlie Brown waved to the right twin, and then to the left he said "Hi George"

"What you talking about? I'm Fred, and that's George" The twin on the left said, pretending to look irritated.

"Oh, sorry Fred" Charlie Brown said meekly.

"Nah, actually you were right the first time" Said the right twin, and they both burst out laughing while Charlie Brown chuckled weakly.

"So, how's our little celebrity and his gang doing?" George asked, patting Charlie Brown's head like he were a dog.

"We're fine, just sent our letters to our families back home" Marcie replied.

"Say, that reminds me. Ron, did anything come in the post for us" Fred asked his younger brother, Ron shook his head and Fred shook a fist in disappointment "Rats, it should be here by now"

"What should be?" Lucy asked, curious to find out what the Weasley twins' latest prank could be.

"We sent in a big order for nose biting teacups weeks ago, and they still haven't arrived" George replied, looking disappointed.

"We were gonna disguise them as goblets and swap 'em with the ones in the kitchens before breakfast, that would really get on everyone's nerves. Should have known not to rely on third class delivery, our owls probably got lost and wound up in Malaysia" Fred supplied.

"You do realize nose biting tea cups are banned at Hogwarts" Hermione said tensely, Fred waved his hand nonchelantly.

"Pish posh, we've snuck in loads of stuff we're not supposed to, and we haven't got expelled yet" Fred said confidently.

"And how many detentions have you gotten in this week alone?" Harry asked humorously.

"Only ten" Fred honestly and nonchelantly replied.

"Next week we're going for eleven" George said, to much laughter from the gang.

"I hope Percy doesn't know what you're doing, I'd hate to see you in that kind of trouble" Charlie Brown said.

"Ah, what's ol' Perce going to do, write to mum?" Fred asked jokingly, his facial expressions almost immediately changed from jovial to outright terrified "Good grief, I hope not"

Fred and George stayed with the Peanuts and Harry's trio just long enough to eat a couple of pumpkin pasties (Pigpen tried to warn Fred Scabbers had been shedding on the pasty he was eating but was too late), as well as make a few jokes and compare their recent pranks to Harry's before dashing off to talk with their friend Lee Jordan.

"I sure hope fur was the only thing you left on those pasties" Pigpen mumbled to Scabbers, who was sound asleep on his shoulder.

"I don't know how you put up with having so many annoying brothers Ron, I couldn't stand it" Lucy told the red haired boy, who merely shrugged.

"You get used to it after the first decade" Ron joked, gulping down some pumpkin juice which he didn't realised Snoopy had sipped.

Charlie Brown thought about how he was going to spend this saturday. The clear blue ceilings indicated it was a lovely day outside, and if they were allowed out onto the grouds there was plenty of things to do. They could go visit Hagrid, they could go swimming with the giant squid, they could read some of the interesting books in the library and so many other things. But what would be a good activity he could do here that he couldn't do at home...

"Excuse me, I'm going back to the dormitories, there's something I need to get" Charlie Brown said, dashing off to the Gryffindor Common Room. After waiting around at the table for a while the rest of the gang decided to get up and explore, Snoopy and Woodstock were already out the front doors to the castle.

* * *

><p>Five minutes later in the Ravenclaw common room, we find Schroeder playing away on his piano while Freida and Luna sat in two nearby beanbags.<p>

"He's rather good at it, isn't he?" Said Luna, who was staring dreamily into space as usual.

"Oh, Schroeder. Yeah, he's good. It's because he's always had lots of practise" Freida replied, watching eagerly as Schroeder perfectly performed one of Beethoven's tunes. She had no idea what it was called, she hadn't even known who Beethoven was until Lucy had told her. But she did enjoy listening to good music, and that's all that was required to be a music lover, right.

The doors to the common room opened, at first Freida didn't bother to see who it was, but it became quite clear as Lucy appeared by the piano and took her regular place leaning against it. Schroeder didn't seem to notice, but the rest of the Ravenclaw's present were muttering furiously.

"Lucy, what are you doing here?" Freida asked in surprise, Schroeder's piano playing came to an abrupt halt and he groaned when he saw Lucy.

"I'm leaning against Schroeder's piano, getting ready to flirt with him. What do you think I'm doing?" Lucy asked as though Freida were being stupid.

"You're not allowed in our common room, how'd you get in here?" Schroeder demanded furiously.

"Well, the doorknob asked me this really complicated question. So I looked the answer up in a book, said it to the doorknob and it let me in. Clever, aren't I" Lucy said smugly, earning much eye rolling from the watching Ravenclaws.

"Can't you even leave me alone in my own house common room?" Schroeder asked irritably.

"No matter where you play your piano Schroeder, I'll always be there to lean against it" Lucy said sweetly.

"Good grief" Schroeder groaned. Soon after however he was able to shift his attentions back to playing Beethoven. The other Ravenclaw's looked offended by Lucy's continued presence.

"You can't stay here you know, this isn't your common room. Get out!" Said a second year boy named Michael Corner.

"No, I think I'll stay" Lucy replied calmly, to much outrage from the Ravenclaws.

"Now see here!" Declared a male prefect with a voice quite as pompous as Percy's. He stormed out of his seat and stood tall above Lucy "You are breaking school rules by remaining in this common room, I suggest you leave now!"

"And who's gonna make me. Certainly not you" Lucy said with a smirk, the prefect frowned.

"I'll have you know I'm a prefect, and I can have many points deducted from Gryffindor. Now get going or else" The prefect demanded. Lucy punched him in the face so hard he went flying across the room and straight through the wall.

"Anyone else want me to leave?" Lucy asked in a falsely sweet voice. The other Ravenclaw's shook their heads, looking horrified. Lucy grinned victoriously and went back to leaning on Schroeder's piano, the young prodogy had ignored the whole scene and was still religiously playing his music.

"If you all think Lucy's scary now, you should see her when she's mad" Freida told the rest of her house. All but Schroeder and Luna whimpered.

* * *

><p>Snoopy and Woodstock meanwhile had arrived on the roof of Hagrid's hut, on which they were both taking a good nap until Fang's booming barks woke them up.<p>

_"I say good chaps, what are you doing sleeping on a roof. It looks awfully uncomfortable"_ Fang thought in his posh voice.

_"Don't you sleep on the roof of your doghouse?"_ Snoopy asked oddly.

_"What prey-tell is that?"_ Fang asked, looking confused. Snoopy and Woodstock exchanged odd looks and shrugged.

"_III IIIII IIII?"_

_"Why yes, I do know my way about the forest, but I'm afaid I can't take you fine gentlemen into it. Only certified Hogwarts staff such as master Hagrid and myself are permitted to enter the forest"_ Fang said seriously _"Besides, if Lady Norris found out she'd go balistic"_

_"Yeah well, that cat can take a hike"_ Snoopy growled, plopping down grumpily onto Hagrid's roof. He really didn't like Mrs Norris. That miserable old cat wouldn't leave him alone, she was always stalking him, breaking up any activities that she deemed dangerous, inappropriate or just too much fun. And Snoopy hated when she did it. Why, if he wasn't such a nice beagle, and if she weren't likely to cut his throat for it, he'd like to give her a good kick.

"_You really should be more careful, Lady Norris has eyes and ears everywhere"_ Fang thought, staring around cautiously. Snoopy and Woodstock followed suit, suddenly looking very nervous.

_"III IIIIIIIIIII II"_

_"Don't worry Woodstock, if she tries to eat you I'll get Lucy to slug her. And hey, if she did try it maybe she'd get the sack"_ Snoopy said hopefully, Woodstock slapped him to deter any hazardous plans he could come up with.

_"I say, isn't that your party over there"_ Fang said, shaking his head in the direction of the castle. Taking out a pair of binoculars Snoopy looked over the grounds and saw Charlie Brown strolling down the side of the hill Hogwarts resided upon, carrying a kite and followed by Peppermint Patty, Marcie, Violet and Patty.

_"Looks like the round headed kids getting ready to fly a kite. You think he would have learned by now_" Snoopy thought, hopping down gently from the giant hut _"Well Fang, thanks for having us over, but we really must be going. Don't want to miss out on all the fun"_

_"I understand, take care my friends"_ Fang thought back, giving Snoopy and Woodstock very slobbery licks.

_"Please don't do that"_ Snoopy thought, disgusted. Woodstock struggled to escape the blob of saliva he was trapped in.

Charlie Brown skipped happily down the hillside carrying his kite, his friends following behind looking apprehensive.

"Come on Charlie Brown, we all know there's no point in this. You're the worst kite flier in the world, you'll never get it in the air, you'll just get yourself tangled up like you always do" Violet said rudely.

"I thought you were being nice to Chuck" Peppermint Patty said bitterly.

"Hey, if no ones around to hear it I'm free to critisize as I please" Violet said smugly, Peppermint Patty clenched her fists.

"It is true though Charlie Brown, you've never been able to fly a kite properly before. What makes you think this time will be any different?" Patty asked.

"Well, while I admit to being innept at the art of kite flying, here at Hogwarts I have one big advantage" Charlie Brown replied, his friends stared imploringly at him, and they all went flying as Charlie Brown screamed joyfully "NO KITE EATING TREES!"

While the other Peanuts nursed their sore heads, Charlie Brown eagerly attempted to get his kite flying. His first few attempts just resulted in his kite crashing about in random places, his next ten attempts got halfway into the air before falling back on his head, and the next attempt after that got Charlie Brown tied up in a knot with all the girls.

"That better not be your hand touching where I think it's touching Charlie Brown, 'cause if it is I'm gonna kill you" Violet snarled. The kids were left tangled up for ten minutes until Snoopy arrived and untangled them.

"Don't be discouraged Charles, I'm sure you'll get it right" Marcie said kindly. She didn't really believe it, no one believed Charlie Brown could fly his kite, but she thought someone might as well say something nice to him.

"Thanks Marcie. I just don't see what I'm doing wrong" Charlie Brown sighed. He gave a thoughtful glance to his pet beagle and said "Snoopy, why don't you hold my kite for a minute"

Snoopy nodded and Charlie Brown passed the handle at the end of the kite string to him, the kite instantly shot twenty feet into the air.

"Predictable" Charlie Brown muttered irritably as Violet and Patty chortled. Snoopy handed the end of the string back to Charlie Brown, who cautiously took a few steps forward. He was delighted to find the kite hadn't fallen to earth, or caught fire, or any of the other things that usually happened when he actually got them flying. And he felt pretty happy...

Until a strong wind picked up and sent the kite zooming southwards. Charlie Brown was yanked along the school grounds by the speeding kite, trying his best not to trip over but still stumbling like crazy, while his friends tried to catch up and help him steady himself. Charlie Brown struggled and struggled against the wind driven kite, he was almost into the forbidden forest when suddenly...

CRASH

And the kite was caught in a tree.

"Good grief" Charlie Brown moaned.

"Look on the bright side Chuck, at least you'll be able to get your kite back from this one" Peppermint Patty said, to which a small smile crept up Charlie Brown's face. This turned into a grimace when he heard a loud crunching sound from up above.

"A kite eating tree at Hogwarts, what are the odds?" Patty commented.

"I can't stand it" Charlie Brown muttered, banging his head against the tree.

Woodstock stared up curiously at the tree, which was still munching away at Charlie Brown's kite. After scratching his chin thoughtfully Woodstock skipped around the tree, examining it's bark and each individual marking. The bird soon found what he was looking for and called for Charlie Brown and friends to take a look.

_"What is it?"_ Asked Snoopy, Woodstock pointed up at a certain heart shaped carving. Charlie Brown examined it closely, his eyes bulged and he gasped in outrage.

"This is the same kite eating tree from back home!" Charlie Brown exclaimed. His friends's eyes widened in shock and they all stepped forward to examine the tree. They found a heart carving with the words "Patty and Shermy forever" Written in it.

"This is the same tree, I remember Shermy carved that when we were five" Patty said, looking slightly flustered as everyone gaped at the romantic carving. Patty's love life however was the least of anyones concerns.

"But that's impossible! How could a tree travel all the way from America to a hidden location in Scotland overnight? Even I can't believe something that crazy is possible" Peppermint Patty said, utterly bewildered.

"Well, considering it has the ability to eat kites I'd say the tree has to be magical, so maybe it can use magic to move around... or something like that. I don't know" Marcie said awkwardly.

"So what's it doing following us here to Hogwarts?" Peppermint Patty questioned.

"Well that's obvious, the only person dumb enough to crash their kites into the tree is Charlie Brown. Without him around the tree would probably starve to death, it had to come here" Violet said smartly.

Charlie Brown glared up at the tree and, just as a group of first years were passing by, he kicked the tree and yelled "You dirty kite eating tree, why can't you just leave me alone!" Charlie Brown fumed a bit before noticing the incredulous looks on the first years's faces. Charlie Brown chuckled nervously, and they all walked off looking highly disturbed.

"Watch it Charlie Brown, Patty and I want people to think we're friends with a celebrity, not a psychotic weirdo" Violet said sternly, Charlie Brown banged his head against the tree one more time.

* * *

><p>Pigpen ran screaming through the Gryffindor common room, Crookshanks hot on his tail. The other Gryffindor's watched curiously as the dirt covered boy reached the door to the boys dormitories and slammed it in the ginger cat's face. Crookshanks hissed and clawed at the door for a minute before he gave up and sulked off somewhere.<p>

"Oh Pigpen, always has to make a scene" Lucy moaned. Having been ejected from the Ravenclaw common room by professor Flitwich, Lucy had grudgingly returned to her own common room, where she was currently in the middle of setting up a Psychiatry stand. It looked identicle to the one she used back home, but rather than five cents, the sign instead gave the price of "Five Knuts"

The rest of Gryffindor house watched curiously as Lucy put the finishing touches on her psychiatry stand, by which I mean flipping the "Out" sign to "In". Most of the students weren't sure what to make of it, some were scratching their chins, deliberating whether or not to request Lucy's psychiatric advice, while others thought it was a big joke.

Lucy leaned against her new psychiatry stand, waiting for her first patient. Considering her only regular patient, Charlie Brown, was not present, she knew it could be a while before she had any work. It could have been, but it wasn't.

Looking very uncertain, Neville Longbottom got up from his armchair in the corner and cautiously approached the Psychiatry stand. Lucy gestured for him to sit down on the free stool.

"Well Neville, what seems to be the problem?" Lucy asked in the most professional voice she could muster. Neville fidgeted with his fingers.

"Well, I'm not really sure how to describe it... I suppose you could say I feel inferior to everyone else around me. You see, my dad was an auror, one of the best in the business, and my mum was a great witch too. In fact, all my family are fantastic wizards, and I just feel I don't live up to their standards. I know my family think I'm a bit of a joke, I hear them whispering about how much of a goof I am at anything to do with magic. But even still they all expect me to shape up and go on to be as great as my parents, and I honestly don't think I can do it. And I feel really ashamed that I'm such a disgrace to my family, and now that I've started school I'm worried my inferiority complex is having a negative impact on my schoolwork, so that I'm doing even worse than I already am.

"All that's really starting to make me feel depressed, and I just don't know what to do about it. I'm not asking how to make me a better wizard, but if you can I'd just like some advice on how I can stop feeling so bad about it all. Do you think you can help me?" Neville asked desperately. Lucy hummed thoughtfully.

"You have a serious problem there Neville. As such, I'm going to give you the same foolproof advice I give to Charlie Brown" Lucy said, Neville leaned in closely, listening intently so as to take in the full extent of her advice "Snap out of it! Five Knuts please?"

Neville blinked rapidly, feeling rather confused.

"But I-"

"Five knuts please?" Lucy insisted, shaking around her collection tin. Looking confused, Neville pulled out five bronze coins and dropped them into the tin. Lucy shook the tin, admiring the sound the coins made "Oh how I love money"

"But wait, I don't think I'm really cured. I still feel depressed and inferior. Do you have any more advice? Please?" Neville asked in a panic.

"I'm sorry, but further payment is required before I can offer you any more advice" Lucy said importantly. Neville meekly emptied his pockets and pulled out a single gold galleon.

"Do you have change for a galleon?" Neville asked.

"No, but if you want you could just give me the galleon anyway. That'll buy you..." Lucy began, taking out a calculator "Let's see, twenty nine knuts is one sickle, and seventeen sickles is one galleon. twenty nine times seventeen is..." She clicked the equals sign on her calculator "Four hundred and ninety three knuts. So that'll buy you ninety eight and a half sessions with me"

"I don't think I need that many" Neville said incredulously.

"Well then I can't help you, please come back when you have exact change" Lucy said conclusively. Neville sighed and left his stool.

'I don't know, but I get the feeling I've just been swindled' Neville thought to himself as he slumped away from the psychiatry stand.

Lucy continued to admire the sound of coins rattling in her collection tin up until Percy appeared in the Common Room and took notice of her stand. Sensing possible rule-breaking, Percy puffed up his chest so as to properly display his prefect badge and marched up to Lucy.

"Excuse me Lucy, but what might this be?" Percy asked, gesturing around the stand.

"This would be my new psychiatry stand. I couldn't bring my old stand with me on the train, so I built a new one here" Lucy explained.

"Do you by any chance have a license to practise psychiatry?" Percy asked importantly.

"Yes" Lucy said plainly.

"Then may I see it?" Percy asked, or rather demanded.

"I left it back home" Lucy said shortly, Percy raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really. Well, that's not a problem, I'll just take your word for it. Oh yes, very good" Percy said in a falsely pleasant tone, before adding seriously "You do know it's illegal to charge people for psychiatric advice without a license?"

"And do you know I have this picture of you making out with your girlfriend in the charms classroom?" Lucy said, pulling said picture out of her pocket and displaying it to the prefect. Percy's eyes nearly shot out of their sockets and his face turned beet red.

"Where did you get that!" Percy screamed urgently. Over in the corner Fred and George began whistling innocently. Percy caught wind of this and glared furiously at his brothers before turning back to Lucy "I demand you give me that picture!"

"Ok, so long as you promise not to close down my business, I'll give you the picture to tear up" Lucy said slyly, Percy's glared intensified.

"I can't allow you to break the law Lucy, now just give me that picture" Percy said through gritted teeth, attempting to snatch the photograph out of Lucy's hands, but she held it back.

"Promise or this baby gets sent straight to Rita Skeeter. I can see tommorows headlines already, "Love in the Classroom: Prefects acting naughty" Won't that be hilarious" Lucy said with a wicked smile.

All the colour flushed out of Percy's face. After one more failed attempt to snatch the picture from her hand, the prefect knew he had no choice but to admit defeat. He stood back and, in as dignified a voice as he could manage, said "Carry on"

Lucy grinned victoriously and tossed the picture aside. Percy made a grab for it, but it was instead snatched by Fred.

"You know, this really was a good picture we took George. It would be a shame if it went to waste" Fred said, putting on a thoughtful frown.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking Fred?" George asked wickedly.

"Grab an owl and send it off to be published in the celebrity gossip section of the Daily Prophet?"

"Wow, I was just gonna recommend octupling it's size and sticking it to the tapestry in the Great Hall, but that's a much better idea" George complimented.

"Shall we go?" Fred asked, gesturing to the doors.

"After you" George said pleasantly, and the twins excitedly hopped out of the room.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Percy roared, charging after his mischeivous brothers. Lucy laughed hysterically.

* * *

><p>After Charlie Brown's disastrous attempts to get his kite flying, he and his friends had made their way back up to the castle and were currently wandering the hallways. Snoopy and Woodstock had slipped away when the gang reached the doors into the entrance hall.<p>

"I still can't believe the kite eating tree followed me here to Hogwarts" Charlie Brown lamented.

"I still can't believe it actually managed to get here" Patty said thoughtfully.

"Well, no point worrying over all that. Let's just have a think about what we're gonna do now" Said Peppermint Patty.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but Patty and I really must be going. We're throwing a party in the Hufflepuff basement, and we've invited all the coolest students in our house. Our status as Charlie Brown's friends will only get us so far in the social heirarchy after all, we have to work hard to boost our popularity" Violet said importantly, Peppermint Patty rolled her eyes at her.

"Speaking of the party, how would you like to come Charlie Brown?" Patty asked sweetly. Charlie Brown blinked in surprise and smiled appreciatively.

"Well I'd love to come" Charlie Brown replied.

"Well too bad, cause you're not invited" Violet and Patty sang in unison, laughing at the dejected look on Charlie Brown's face.

"It's not like you could attend anyway Charles, if it's in the Hufflepuff basement you wouldn't be allowed to go" Marcie pointed out, Charlie Brown cheered up slightly and Violet and Patty glared at Marcie for spoiling the effect of their taunt.

Violet and Patty muttered a quick goodbye and departed without a single glance back at their friends.

"I don't know why you call those girls your friends Chuck. They're rude to you, they exclude you from sociable events and they're using you as a tool to make themselves look cool. Why don't you just tell them off for how they treat you?" Peppermint Patty asked irritably.

"Because if I did actually work up the nerve to do so they'd most likely stop being my friends, and I couldn't deal with the thought of two of my oldest friends abandoning me" Charlie Brown explained. Peppermint Patty groaned.

The three remaining Peanuts continued wandering through the halls, discussing possible activities they could carry out to pass the time. Charlie Brown was just suggesting they visit Hagrid again when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him.

"Heya Charlie" Greeted the cheery voice of Morag from behind Charlie Brown.

"Hi Morag" Charlie Brown replied with his usual blush. Peppermint Patty gritted her teeth.

After Morag had had a chance to squeeze most of the air out of Charlie Brown she released him and stepped back so she was facing all three of her fellow students.

"Glad I found you, I've been looking for you all morning. Professor Mcduff asked me to tell you our first technology lesson is at one o' clock today, he says to meet him in the entrance hall and we'll go straight to his class" Morag said, Charlie Brown and Marcie looked confused, and Peppermint Patty horrified.

"BUT IT'S SATURDAY" Peppermint Patty exclaimed "We can't have lessons on a saturday, that's not fair! It's not natural, it's unethical, it's plain wrong! How can he make us attend classes on a saturday!"

"Not sure, but he mentioned something about scheduling errors" Morag said, looking confused at the thought "Anyway, that's what he wanted me to tell you. How's your day going?"

"My greatest enemy just made a triumphant return" Charlie Brown muttered, Morag screamed.

"You mean you-know-who! Oh God, we're doomed! We're doomed! Everybody to the panic shelters, you-know-who's back! We're doomed!" Morag screamed, running around in circles in her moment of terror. Peppermint Patty and Marcie exchanged awkward looks and Marcie bonked Morag on the head with a text book to make her stand still.

"He doesn't mean Voldermort-" Morag squeaked "He means the kite eating tree, which as the name implies is a tree that devours the kites Charles gets caught in it. Apparently it's found a way to travel across continents and now resides on Hogwarts grounds near the forbidden forest"

"Oh" Morag said, taking a deep breath. She laughed nervously and patted Charlie Brown on the back "You really 'ad me going. For a second there, I thought you meant you-know-who was back from the dead, ready to take over the world and kill us all. Pretty silly of me, huh?"

"Not that silly" Charlie Brown said fairly, receiving another hug from Morag. Charlie Brown wondered why Peppermint Patty looked so annoyed and Marcie disappointed. It couldn't be jealousy, right. Couldn't possibly be.

"So, right now, whatcha doin'?" Morag asked. Somewhere in America, a girl with black hair gritted her teeth.

"We were just on our way to visit Hagrid's" Peppermint Patty said shortly.

"Oh, that sounds nice. I'd ask if I could go with you, but I have a few other classmates to find and tell them about our Technology lesson. Either of you know where Freida, Luna and Pigpen might be?" Morag asked.

"I think Pigpen said he was going back to the common room to put Scabbers to bed, and I haven't seen Freida or Luna today but I assume they're in or near their own common room" Marcie replied.

"Thanks, really appreciate the help" Morag said, giving Marcie a hug, leaving the glasses girl feeling awkward. Morag bid the trio a quick goodbye and skipped off to find the other Peanuts.

"A ball of sunshine, ain't she?" Peppermint Patty joked while she and her friends made their way to Hagrid's hut. Should have just stayed out on the school grounds.

* * *

><p><em>"How do I always get into these situations?"<em> Snoopy asked himself. After sneaking away from his round headed owner, Snoopy had led Woodstock towards the forbidden forest. The beagles lust for adventure got the better of him, and the duo wound up entering the forest. He just wanted a short trek, have a look around, see some unusual creatures, maybe dance with the local bunnies. But after only five minutes, they found themselves more lost than they were in the castle five days previous.

_"III IIIII II"_ Woodstock cheeped.

_"Don't panic Woodstock, I'll get us out of here. I'm a beagle scout, I can do anything I put my mind to"_ Snoopy thought proudly.

_"IIII IIIIII IIIIIIIII"_

_"Sarcasm does not become you, Woodstock"_ Snoopy thought irritably while Woodstock giggled.

Snoopy and Woodstock slipped through the gaps between trees, desparately searching for a way out of the forest. Now that they were lost, logic was starting to sink into Snoopy's mind. What if they were attacked by a troll? What if Woodstock was swallowed by a venomous tantacula? What if the bunnies all had rabies? Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, entering the forest.

Snoopy continued squeezing his way through the ever shrinking path through the forest until something caught his eye. Floating around a bunch of flowers was what was unmistakably a fairy. How many human beings were five inches tall and had wings after all. Feeling excited, Snoopy pounced at the fairy, grabbed her and began shaking her about.

_"Where's the pixie dust?"_ Snoopy wondered, the only thing that fell off the fairy was strands of her hair. He was expecting a shower of pixie dust that would help him fly away to Neverland. The fairy held in her vomit and jabbed Snoopy in the eye, flying off in a daze and muttering angrily in some strange language.

_"IIIIII"_

_"I thought she was a tinker bell fairy"_ Snoopy said defensively, rubbing his sore eye. When he regained his full vision he screamed and ran off in the opposite direction to his bird friend. Woodstock wasn't sure why he'd done that until he turned around and saw the horse sized spider looming over him.

_"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" _Woodstock screeched at the top of his lungs, sprinting after his beagle friend while the giant spider gave chase.

Snoopy and Woodstock leap-frogged over outgrown tree roots, ducked under abnormally low branches and turned every corner to avoid the spider, which followed them determindly, fully intent on gobbling them up. Snoopy stopped a few times to throw rocks at the spider, but this did not deter the monstrocity and only gave it a chance to get closer to the duo. Snoopy was beginning to pant, and the stitches in his chest could only mean it wouldn't be long before he was spider chow.

_"I should have stuck to chasing sticks" _Snoopy lamented as the spider charged eagerly towards the exhausted beagle. Woodstock frantically searched the terrain for anything that could prove useful. Finding an abandoned set of bows and arrows, Woodstock grabbed the bow and tried firing the arrows at the spider. Unfortunately, his small stature did not help his accuracy, and the arrows flew in every direction other than where the spider was coming from. When the beast was only ten steps away from the duo Snoopy grabbed the bow and shot an arrow directly into the spider's lower right eye.

Snoopy and Woodstock barrel rolled to avoid the spider, which was flailing around in pain and crashing into all the trees. Knowing the arrow in it's eye wouldn't distract it for too long Snoopy quickly began formulating a plan. Noticing a large number of overhanging vines Snoopy desparately began climbing the nearest tree, taking care not to be squashed by the enormous spider.

With a yell like Tarzan, Snoopy grabbed the longest vine he could and swung low around the spider's two front legs, tieing them in a knot. The spider fell forward, finally focusing it's attentions away from the arrow in it's eye the spider pulled back on the vines, but before it could break free Woodstock swung bown on his own vine and wrapped up it's two back legs. The Spider struggled to break free, but before long Snoopy and Woodstock had managed to wrap up it's entire body.

_"Ever seen a spider get caught in a web Woodstock? Well you have now"_ Snoopy joked.

"You realize this isn't a web, but a bunch of stupid vines you wrapped around me" The horse-sized spider growled.

_"Eh, close enough"_ Snoopy shrugged, not bothering to ask how the spider could actually speak.

Snoopy and Woodstock left the spider to struggle against it's restraints and continued searching for a path out of the forest. They didn't have to search long, the spider was barely out of their sight when the duo bumped into Hagrid, accompanied by Fang, Charlie Brown, Marcie and Peppermint Patty.

"Told yeh I saw 'im sneaking in here, lucky he wasn't eaten by summat" Muttered Hagrid.

"Snoopy, you really shouldn't have ran off into the forest" Charlie Brown scolded, looking exhasperated at his mischievous dog. Snoopy however was delighted to see his owner again and gave him a big hug.

"Nutty dog. We'd best be getting outta here, you three aren't supposed ter be here in the forest in the first place" Hagrid told the children.

"At least Snoopy and Woodstock are alive" Marcie said with a smile.

And so Hagrid led the group out of the forest and back towards his hut, Snoopy refused to cease hugging Charlie Brown the whole way and Woodstock hitched a ride on Fang, who had spent the short walk mentally scolding the mischeivous animals.

_"I should hope you two never engage in such a risky endeavor again"_ Fang said sternly.

_"I wish I could make that promise, I really do"_ Snoopy thought back.

Peppermint Patty checked her watch, informing her friends it was only five minutes until lunch. The trio decided to head back to the castle, bidding a goodbye to Hagrid and thanking him for helping to find Snoopy and Woodstock. This time Charlie Brown made sure to keep a close eye on the duo while entering the castle.

"Could you just go one day without getting in trouble?" Charlie Brown asked his beagle. He decided there was no need to answer that question.

Charlie Brown and friends sat down in their usual seats at the Gryffindor table, Snoopy began his typical routine of hopping around the table and eating everything he could get his hands on.

"And they say Garfield eats a lot" Peppermint Patty commented as Snoopy swallowed a whole plate of ham sandwiches.

"He only needs a bowl full of dog food every day really, he just can't resist stuffing himself when there's so much yummy food available" Charlie Brown explained.

"It's surprising how he stays so slim" Marcie said thoughtfully.

Charlie Brown ate his lunch very slowly, knowing he still had an hour before he was due to head off to his first magical technology lesson. He agreed that it felt odd to be having a lesson on saturday, but he was not distraught over it like Peppermint Patty. He wondered if Louis might be able to sort out those "Scheduling errors" Morag had mentioned, they did have a free period after lunch on Friday, they could always do it then.

Charlie Brown wondered just what Louis Mcduff's lessons were like. From everything he knew about the Technology teacher, it was bound to be utterly crazy. It was quite normal during supper time for Louis to burst through the doors and present one or more of his faulty inventions, most often the exploding toaster. Lucy had suggested his toasters would serve better as grenades, though the wizarding scientist loudly declared he would get it right someday.

"But not someday soon" Snape had remarked, for which Louis had sent him a glare.

Charlie Brown hoped he would live to see the next day, but thought that so long as Louis did not show them his teleporter he would be fine.

"Hi Charlie Brown, had a good morning?" Asked Freida, as she and Luna appeared at the table.

"Pretty good, except I lost another kite to the kite eating tree and Snoopy got lost in the forest" Charlie Brown replied.

"Kite eating tree?" Freida asked oddly "How-"

"We don't know, it was just there" Peppermint Patty interrupted.

"Oh. Weird. And what were you doing in the forest, hunting rabbits?" Freida asked sarcastically, Snoopy shook his head vigorously "I know you weren't, but you should've been"

_"Why would I want to hurt the cute little bunnies?"_ Snoopy asked rhetorically.

"So how has your morning been?" Asked Marcie.

"Oh, pretty good. We've been in the common room for the most of it, did you know Lucy got in there. Professor Flitwich was really upset about it, and demanded she leave. We've just been listening to Schroeder's piano most of the morning, but now we're ready to do something else" Freida explained.

"Did Morag tell you about our Technology lesson?" Asked Charlie Brown.

"Oh yeah, we just saw her in the corridor. Can you believe it, we have a lesson on saturday! That's outrageous!" Freida yelled indignantly.

"Tell me about it" Peppermint Patty grumbled.

Charlie Brown spent the next five minutes trying to ignore Peppermint Patty and Freida's complaining over the upcoming Technology lesson. Marcie took out a book called "So you're friends with a dummy" While Luna read the days copy of the quibbler, upside down of course. Charlie Brown didn't see how Luna could take her father's writing seriously. He'd read one copy of the magazine and found nothing but crazy articles about how Professor Dumbledore was a Martian android in desguise, or that Chocolate frogs were responsible for spreading a disease called "Loser's lurgy". But then again, it was Luna...

Snoopy and Woodstock continued to consume all the food in sight, they had come close to starting a food fight before Charlie Brown yanked them off the table. After Monday's incident at the Slytherin table Charlie Brown couldn't let Snoopy start another food fight, professor Snape was watching from the staff table, and Gryffindor couldn't afford to lose any more points.

And... well, the rest of the hour was rather uneventful, just Charlie Brown and friends talking to each other about what was going on, so for the sake of the plot, and since I feel lazy today, we're just gonna skip ahead to the gang meeting Louis in the entrance hall.

"Heya Charlie, how've you been" Louis greeted, giving Charlie Brown a bone crushing hug. Seriously, his ribcage might have cracked from the pressure.

"He's been doing fine, but he won't be now if you don't let go" Peppermint Patty said urgently, Louis realized the strength with which he was hugging Charlie Brown and released him right before his spine could snap.

"Sorry, don't know my own strength" Louis said meekly "Right, is everybody here?"

"I think this is everyone you asked me to find" Said Morag, staring between the rest of the class. Most of the Peanuts were in the class, with the exception of Lucy, Violet, Patty and Schroeder, while Terri Mcduff and Colin Creevey were also here. Charlie Brown supposed Terri was only taking the subject to avoid upsetting his uncle, and he had a suspicion Colin was only here because he knew Charlie Brown was taking the class. The fact that he was taking a photograph of Charlie Brown every ten seconds supported this theory.

"Wow, I can't remember the last time I had such a big class. I'm so happy" Louis squealed, hopping excitedly on the spot. Terri moaned in embarassment.

"By the way, this isn't gonna be a permanent thing is it? You know, classes on Saturday?" Peppermint Patty asked cautiously, she and the majority of the class held their hands together in prayer.

"Nah, I just didn't expect to have half this many students, so I'm a bit disorganised on timetables. I notice you have a free period on Friday, so I'll arrange for us to have it then" Louis explained, to many sighs of relief from his students.

With that little concern out of everyones mind Louis led the students up the staircase and towards their next class. Louis spent the whole time talking loudly to the students and constantly tripped over things and caused suits of armour to fall on him, one time he ended up knocking a portrait of nuns off the side of the staircase and had to run all the way back to the entrance hall to retrieve it. He then had to endure the nuns constant complaining and rude remarks until he returned the portrait to it's rightful place.

"You're all very crabby" Louis scolded the portrait nuns, to which they complained some more.

The rest of the walk was actually very quiet and pleasant, until they reached the fourth floor, where they were stopped by a walking suit of armour.

"I'm sorry, but only certified noodle-brains may pass" The armour said in a high, taunting voice. The armour's helmet turned to face Peppermint Patty and it said "Go right ahead missy"

Peppermint Patty growled at the remark and kicked the suit of armour, but this only managed to injure her leg. Peeves the poltergeist popped out of the armoured suit and laughed at Patty, who was hopping about while clutching her injured foot.

"What a foolish little boy-girl, so much fun to tease" Peeves cackled, Peppermint Patty took off her shoe and threw it at him. Peeves caught the shoe and threw it at her head, flying off down the hallway while Peppermint Patty was still in a daze.

"I hate that guy" Peppermint Patty said bitterly.

"We all do Patty, we all do" Louis said with a supportive tap to the tomboy's shoulder.

Surprisingly, after the little run in with Peeves the group managed to make it to the class without further interruption.

True to his character, Louis's classroom more closely resembled a laboratory. While there were a few tables to sit at, most of the space in the room was taken up by stands displaying several of Louis's inventions, including a wizarding television with a wand antenna (A sign hung on the front reading "Not finished"), a pair of boots that granted the ability to walk on air (A sign read "Also not finished"), a small robot dog ("Not nearly finished") And one of Louis's wizarding toasters ("Do I even need to say it?"). There was also a table full of beakers and vials of some bubbling chemicals, a giant super computer in the right corner of the room, a bed in the left corner and next to it a rusty blue ashura, the headbeams of which appeared to have pupils.

"Beautiful, isn't it" Louis said dreamily, referring to the whole classroom. Charlie Brown exchanged awkward looks with his friends and they all took a seat at the middle table.

"Right..." Louis began once everyone was seated "Welcome all, to perhaps the most exciting subject taught at Hogwarts: Wizarding Technology! In this class you will learn how we wizards have built such contraptions as the wizarding wireless and the broomstick, as well as several of my own fantastic inventions" Louis added, patting the toaster. It immediately exploded in his face "Stupid-stupid-stupid!"

Louis took a moment to collect himself and wipe the soot off his face before continuing "Anyway, I'm going to teach you how these things are supposed to work, how you can build and maintain them, and how you can come up with your own inventions. It's a difficult class at times, but as long as you put your minds to it this should be a fun class for all of you. Any questions?"

There were a few murmurs among the class before Colin Creevey's hand shot into the air.

"Can we see your teleporter?" Colin asked eagerly.

"I'd show it to you, oh yes, but then I'd be arrested" Louis said with little of his usual cheerfullness "Any other questions?"

When nobody else rose their hands Louis pulled out a tattered copy of "The art of Magical Machinery"

"Right, for the first lesson of term I've been asked to give you a boring lecture about the laws behind wizarding technology, have you all read the first three chapters of the book-the ones without pictures-and then give you another boring lecture about health and safety practises" Louis explained, to a collective groan from the class.

"I know, boring right?" Louis said, surprising everyone when he threw his self-authored book across the class "I know you all didn't agree to take my class to do lame junk like that. We'll have to do it, of course, but we can worry about that next lesson. For now, let's have a look at some of my inventions that work"

Everyone sighed in relief and watched Louis dig through a store cupboard, take out a small telescope and plop it down onto his desk so that everyone could see it.

"Here's something I'm particularly proud of, the mindscope. Not a very creative name, I know, but it's an interesting little creation. You know why? Because this little telescope here has the ability to see into people's thoughts" Louis said with an air of fatherly pride. There was an outbreak of excited chatter among the class.

"Really?" Pigpen Asked.

"Really" Louis repeated.

"Wow" The class uttered together. Louis smiled appreciatively.

"So, anybody want to have a go at using the mindscope?" Louis asked, everyone's hands shot into the air but Charlie Brown's. Perhaps it was his hesitancy that caused Louis to say "Charlie, why don't you give it a try"

Charlie Brown's eyes widened in shock. He didn't really want to invade the thoughts of any of his friends and classmates, he just thought that would be rude. He tried to explain this to Louis, but the excitable teacher had already pulled him out of his seat and placed him in front of the magical telescope.

"Go ahead Charlie, peer into my thoughts" Louis said encouragingly. Charlie Brown smiled nervously, he still didn't want to do this, but he just couldn't say no to that happy and imploring smile.

Charlie Brown positioned the mindscope so that it's larger end was facing Louis's head and looked into it. He was surprised by what he saw, contained within an outline of Louis's head, as thought it were a tv screen, were images of Louis sitting at a table with a large group of people, the males all looking very similar to him. The images changed from Louis and his family having dinner, him and what might have been his older brothers dancing around holding beer bottles, and a picture of him dropping a cooked turkey on Terri's head, and then another one showing who looked like his mother pouring gravy over it.

Feeling a bit disturbed by the silliness of that last image, Charlie Brown pulled his eyes away from the end of the Mindscope and looked at Louis's now normal head.

"So, what did you see?" Louis asked eagerly, the entire class was watching Charlie Brown.

"I think you were having dinner with your family" Charlie Brown replied. He was going to mention the turkey thing, but thought better of it.

"Exactly, I was thinking about last years Christmas party. You know Terri, the one where we all ate turkey off your head" Louis said cheerfully, Terri Mcduff facepalmed while the rest of the class laughed.

"It's not a perfect invention, I intended it to see any thought the viewer wants, but it can only show what a person is thinking of at the moment of use. Still a dandy device though, I was hoping the Ministry could use it to extract information from crime suspects, or something like that. I'm pretty pleased with it" Said Louis, completely ignoring his nephew's embarassment.

"Can the rest of us have a go at using it?" Freida asked eagerly.

"No, I don't think so. I respect the privacy of my students and myself, so no one else can use it just now" Louis replied, picking up the mindscope and tossing it unceremoniously back into the cupboard. Freida looked disappointed.

"But don't worry, I still have a few other inventions to show you" Louis added, perking the interests of his students.

While Charlie Brown sat down once more, Louis approached one of the pedestals around the room and picked up what looked like a hocky mask.

"And this is another engenious invention of mine: The guess-who mask" Louis said while placing the mask over his face.

"What does that do?" Asked Marcie, who felt a mask didn't really count much as technology.

"I'll show you" Louis replied, looking in Marcie's direction and pressing a button on the side of the mask. A few seconds later the hockey mask had changed into Marcie's face, hair and glasses and all.

Gasps echoed across the room, Louis pulled out a mirror and examined his new face.

"Hmm... I always thought I'd need glasses someday" Marcie-face Louis said with a thoughtful thrown, Marcie's eyes bulged under her own glasses. She couldn't describe just how weird it felt to be looking at someone with the exact same face as her, albeit with a completely different body that didn't fit well with the face.

"How did you do that?" Peppermint Patty asked excitedly.

"If I went into detail about how these masks function your head would blow up" Louis replied simply. Deciding he'd had enough of looking like a girl Louis pulled the mask off his face. Marcie's facial features quickly dissolved off the mask, which took up it's original hockey-mask look.

"I invented this as the ultimate spy gadget, you'd just have to look at a picture of someone and the guess-who mask transforms to look like that person. Of course I overlooked the fact that to really fool anybody you'd have to have a similar body shape, and your fingerprints and such would remain the same. So it's not exactly the ultimate spy gadget, is it?" Louis said with a disappointed frown.

"Still pretty cool though" Pigpen said fairly, Louis smiled faintly.

After placing the guess-who mask aside on his desk, Louis skipped over to the pedestal with the wand-antenna tv.

"Right, this one actually isn't complete yet, but I'm sure you'd all like to see it anyway. Who here comes from a muggle family?" Louis asked, all but Luna and Terri raised their hands, while Morag half raised hers "Oh yeah, quite a lot of you. Well then, most of you should know what this is"

"It's a TV" Colin piped up.

"That's right. As you may remember me saying before, we wizards don't have televisions" Louis continued. How could anyone forget, when Lucy had found out he had been honest about it she screamed and ran out the castle, declaring her intentions to swim back home. Thankfully the Peanuts had managed to stop her, though they were all depressed at the prospect of having no television to watch for a whole year. But then again, there was so much else that could be done here it didn't really matter too much to Charlie Brown.

"I admit I didn't really know what television was until I crashed through the roof of a muggle family's house in Glasgow. Long story short I offered to help fix the roof and stayed the night to watch a little tv with them. And I thought "Wow, this is cool" I mean, we wizards have a lot of great entertainment, but nothing as cool as a box that shows you what's happening at a football stadium a hundred miles away, or let's you watch classic cartoons like the Flintstones.

"I was shocked we wizards had never come up with something like this before. I tried to bring one into the castle, but all the magic just caused the screen to shatter and the antenna to shoot off. So then I decided to build my own wizarding television" Louis explained, patting the old television set.

"So, when do you think it'll be finished? I hope it's before the baseball season starts" Said Peppermint Patty desparetly.

"It works now" Louis said, flipping a switch on the side of the tv. The screen lit up to play the disney movie "Sleeping Beauty", specifically the part where prince Phillip was battling the dragon Maleficent.

"So how's it unfisished?" Pigpen asked curiously.

"Well... there's a glitch. You see, I tried to impliment 3-D, and..." Louis began awkwardly. On the tv screen the dragon started to breath fire. Flames shot right out of the screen, Charlie Brown, Marcie and Peppermint Patty ducked to avoid them, but their desk was completely incinerated "I might have overdone it"

Louis turned the magical television off right before Prince Phillip could throw his sword at the dragon. With an awkward glance to Charlie Brown and friends Louis waved his wand and a new desk appeared for them.

"So, are you just going to show us your inventions or can we try them out?" Peppermint Patty asked.

"Well, I'd like to let you use them but they require training to use safely. Heck, I've been a teacher for years and I'm barely qualified to use this stuff. But I will let you build your own little contraptions" Louis said. Everyone stared curiously as Louis scanned through the cupboards and pulled out a set of cardboad boxes, handing one out to each of the students.

"I want each of you to turn to page eighty eight of your text books, where you shall find instructions on how to put together the bits and pieces in those boxes to build a wizarding alarm clock, which instead of some annoying beeping plays a rousing chorus of "Hark, the herald Angels sing". So please, open your text books and have fun" Louis said cheerfully. While Luna just stared with mild curiosity at the robotic dog on the pedestal next to her, the rest of the class looked anxious at what Louis had just asked of them.

"Sir, are you sure it's wise to have us start building things the first lesson?" Marcie asked "We don't have any experience with this sort of thing yet, what if something goes wrong?"

"Nonsense Marcie" Louis said with a calm wave of his hand "You'll all be fine, and I'm here to help you out if you get stuck. Nothing can go wrong"

* * *

><p>Harry and Ron hid behind a tapestry of unicorns near the Technology classroom. Professor Snape appeared around the corner seconds later, covered in slime, the enchanted accordian still floating besides him playing it's annoying sound.<p>

Snape swept along the corridor, when he came to the tapestry he pulled at it, but found nothing but a brick wall. With a disappointed scowl Snape stormed out of the corridor, firing a few stunning spells at the accordian as he did so. The accordian just played on.

"You don't think we might have gone too far with that one?" Ron asked as he and Harry reappeared in the corridor, Harry having pulled a silvery cloak off of them.

"Yeah, might have overdid it" Harry admitted, stowing the invisibility cloak away in his pockets "We'd better stay away from Snape for the next few months, if he finds out we were responsible for those floating buckets of slime he'd have us hanged"

Wiping a bit of slime off their own shoes Harry and Ron went to stand outside the Technology classroon.

"I hear Charlie and some of his friends have their first lesson with Louis today" Harry commented.

"Well then let's stand back" Ron said, Harry nodded and they both leaped out of the way of the door. It's a good thing they did, because just seconds later there was a series of explosions from within the classroom and the door went flying off it's hinges, smashing against the wall opposite.

Harry and Ron peeked into the classroom, finding Louis pointing his wand at Charlie Brown, attempting to put out the flames on his head.

"Why do all my first classes end this way?" Louis asked irritably, shooting water from his wand at Charlie Brown's head. The flames only got bigger.

"AUGH! Put it out, put it out!" Charlie Brown screamed in panic, his friends all tried putting the fire out with a wet rag, but it burned to a crisp.

"How the heck-!" Freida complained.

Charlie Brown got down on the floor and rolled, but the flames still burned. Charlie Brown could feel his hair dissolving, it would probably start melting his head any second now.

Harry and Ron noticed professor McGonagall at the end of the corridor, probably attracted by the sound of the explosion, and called for help. Thank goodness for Charlie Brown, McGonagall was able to extinguish the flames with one flick of her wand.

"Louis, how exactly did this happen?" Professor McGonagall asked sternly.

"My dumb luck, that's how" Louis replied, much to professor McGonagall's annoyance.

"I don't know why we bother letting you teach" McGonagall commented while regrowing Charlie Brown white blond hair to it's original length. Apart from the disappearance of the burn marks, Charlie Brown didn't look a bit different than he had a moment ago.

"Who else is crazy enough to do my job?" Louis asked. Professor McGonagall decided he may have had a point and left without another word.

"Right, I suppose we'll leave it here today" Louis said "I'll see you all on Friday"

Everyone looked glad to leave the classroom. Harry and Ron joined Charlie Brown and friends going down the staircase.

"So what were you making?" Ron asked.

"We were supposed to make alarm clocks" Marcie answered.

"Alarm clocks? That's all. Last year he made me build a cold fusion reactor for first lesson" Harry said, looking as though he'd rather not recall the experience.

"You take his class?" Charlie Brown asked.

"I lost a bet with Fred and George. Apparently, you can't teach a gnome to count to ten" Harry explained.

Trying to forget their disastrous attempts at making a clock, Charlie Brown and friends ended up leaving the castle to walk around the lake.

"How long has the giant squid been here exactly?" Pigpen asked, observing the squid swimming nearby, a few students standing like surfers on one of it's raised tentacles.

"About a thousand years" Luna said matter-of-factly. Everyone looked curiously at her.

"What do you mean, squids can't live to be that old" Marcie said reasonably.

"It's not really a squid, it's Godric Gryffindor in animagus form. He transforms into a squid during the day, and at the eleventh hour of the night he transforms back into a man and wanders the castle, looking for his lost slippers" Luna explained in a surprisingly serious tone, which only added to the absurdity of her statement.

"I like this girl, always good for a laugh" Ron said pleasantly.

* * *

><p>While the Peanuts sat by the lake, observing and sometimes riding the giant squid, Snoopy had managed to sneak away, and was currently in a hallway on the fifth floor. He had convinced ten suits of armour to line up like bowling pins, and for the bowling ball he was using an enormous globe of the earth.<p>

_"Well how do you like me now Woodstock, I'm the first beagle to ever play "Armour bowling""_ Snoopy said jokingly.

_"III IIII II"_

_"Yes, I am pretty cool, aren't I"_ Snoopy said, though he soon got the feeling Woodstock was being sarcastic. _"Say Woodstock, how would you like to go first?"_

Woodstock cheeped eagerly. Snoopy gratefully set down the heavy globe in front of the small bird. But of course, Woodstock was too small to lift it. He tried, but no matter how hard he pulled he just couldn't get the globe off the ground. After five unsuccessful attempts to lift the globe Woodstock instead took twenty paces back and charged at it.

Woodstock's headbutt caused the globe to roll forward, as well as hurting his head. The globe didn't move very fast, it was probably five whole minutes until it reached the suits of armour, and even then it only tapped them lightly before coming to a stop. Woodstock sighed, disappointed.

_"Don't worry Woodstock, you tried your best, that's all that matters"_ Snoopy said kindly, giving Woodstock a warm hug.

After taking time to comfort his friend Snoopy retrieved the globe and prepared to bowl. He stepped back a few paces, mustered all his strength to hold the globe high and ran. He was just about to roll it until he skid to a stop, his face inches from that of Mrs Norris.

_"And what do you think you're doing?"_ Mrs Norris asked crossly.

_"Armour bowling"_ Snoopy said meekly, Mrs Norris's eyes narrowed.

_"Your stupidity knows no bounds, does it? Return that globe to it's rightful place and set these armoured suits back up against the walls, or else"_ Mrs Norris growled.

_"Or else what?"_ Snoopy asked rudely. Mrs Norris sent Snoopy and Woodstock flying with a loud lions roar. The duo crashed into a wall, the globe they had been bowling with also went flying and slammed into them. Snoopy and Woodstock eventually managed to push the globe off them and stumbled about in a paniful daze.

_"Ok, we'll put 'em back"_ Snoopy thought weakly. Mrs Norris smiled in satisfaction and watched intently as Snoopy and Woodstock set the suits of armour up along the walls again, giving them another lion roar whenever they complained.

_"Know your place beagle. Your antics have no purpose in my school, you and that bird stop acting like imbeciles, or you shall face far worse consequences"_ Mrs Norris said darkly before trotting off. Snoopy followed her as far as the stairs, and when she was at least two floors down he dropped an anvil on her head.

_"I couldn't possibly stop my antics, think of how disappointed my fans would be"_ Snoopy commented. When he noticed Mrs Norris making her way back up the staircase he and Woodstock ran like the wind.

* * *

><p>It wasn't until dinner was ready to begin that Charlie Brown and friends entered the great hall. They had spent the magority of their afternoon playing around with the giant squid, which had enjoyed ferrying them around the lake and letting them surf with it's tentacles. Charlie Brown had not wanted to do the latter, but Peppermint Patty and Harry had somehow managed to talk him into it. It wasn't a pleasant experience at all, he kept losing his balance and falling head first into the lake, and the whole experience made him feel a bit woozy.<p>

"So how have you been?" Asked Hermione, who was already in her seat, surrounded by what looked like every book in the library.

"Pretty good. I see you've just been doing some light reading" Ron joked.

"Actually I've been doing that essay for professor Binns in the library. You might want to make a start on it" Hermione said sternly, Ron ignored her and helped himself to a pumpkin pasty and was about to drink some pumpkin juice, before the goblet came to life and bit his nose.

"I'm guessing Fred and George's order of nose-biting teacups finally arrived" Marcie commented, Ron grumbled furiously as he tried to pull the biting goblet off his nose.

Charlie Brown sat down in his ususl seat and chose his supper from the various foodstuffs available. Hogwarts must have had some eccelent gourmet's to prepare such a wide range of food.

With nothing more to do today the gang began recounting the days events to one another. They were soon joined by Lucy and Schroeder, the former of whom described her encounters with "Patients" at her psychiatry stand, as well as complaining about Charlie Brown's absense at said stand, while Schroeder had nothing more to say than "I was practising the piano"

Violet and Patty appeared a short while after, pushing aside Peppermint Patty and Pigpen to sit with Charlie Brown in their usual effort to attract attention and public interest. When asked about how thier party went, Violet simply yelled "NONE OF YOUR BEESWAX"

While Lucy was regailing Charlie Brown and Pigpen with the advice she had given to Colin Creevey with his obsessive picture-taking ("Tie your fingers together with string and toss the camera off a cliff") Fred and George sat down on the other side of the table.

"Sent that picture off to the prophet yet?" Lucy asked sarcastically.

"What do you think?" Fred asked sarcastically. He and George were both covered in bruises and had bandages wrapped around odd places, George was even sporting a black eye.

"What exactly happened to you two?" Asked Charlie Brown.

"Well, you see a week ago we caught Percy snogging his girlfriend Penelope Clearwater in the Charms classroom" Fred began.

"We knew we had to take advantage of this little discovery, so we took a picture, which we later sold to Lucy here. And then she used it to blackmail Percy"

"But before he could get it from her, we swiped the picture back and made to go to the owlery, saying we were gonna send it to the daily prophet-"

"It was only a joke, but he still pummeled us anyway" George said, rubbing his black eye to emphasise that point.

"And then he tore up the picture. But the joke's on him, we have twenty more copies where that one came from" Fred finished, and everybody laughed, even Hermione.

Charlie Brown was just swallowing a bit of shrimp when he saw Snoopy hopping madly around the table. He was performing his usual happy dance and cramming food into his mouth, until Mrs Norris appeared and held out her foot to trip him.

_"Get down on the floor and eat from a bowl like you're supposed to, you stupid beagle"_ Mrs Norris thought sternly. Snoopy growled at her, but was forced to comply. he sat down on the floor while Charlie Brown went to fetch him a bowl of dog food.

"That cat sure is mean to you, huh Snoopy" Peppermint Patty said, glaring at the unpleasant cat as she hopped off towards the teachers table.

_"Tell me about it"_ Snoopy muttered, but it was with a grin that he watched Mrs Norris approach her water dish by Filch's seat _"But just wait 'til she sees the surprise I have waiting for her"_

Mrs Norris made to lap up some water from her bowl, but stopped with her face just an inch above the water. Only it wasn't water, it was a green potion. A green potion that bubbled up and shot out of the bowl, splattering all over Mrs Norris and dissolving her fur.

_"BEAGLE!"_ Mrs Norris screamed, Snoopy and Woodstock rolled over with laughter.

Charlie Brown gave Snoopy his food bowl and made to finish his own supper. While discussing the "Interesting" First Magic Technology lesson with Harry's group, the round headed boy was greeted by the appearance of Lightning the flash owl with an envelope in it's beak.

"So what did your folks say?"Peppermint Patty asked. Charlie Brown opened up and read the letter, which was split up in three parts for each of his family members.

_"Dear Charlie,_

_I'm glad to know you're doing alright, we are all doing fine, but it is a bit quiet here without you. I understand why your letter was late, you shouldn't allow people to bully you. If you really feel bad about what they're saying then you should just stand up to them. I don't mean for you to do anything rash, just tell them to mind their own business. Otherwise you should all just ignore what they say, bullies ridicule others to entice a reaction, if you don't let it show that it bothers you they're more likely to stop. As for professor Snape, tell him I told him to stop being a prejudice, badgering old snake and that if he doesn't stop bullying you I'll have him reported! If your wondering why I sound so angry, it's because I happen to know Severus, and I don't like him. Also, I did know James and Lily, they were among the most frequent visitors Victoria and Trystan had around the time I left England. Tell Harry to give them my regards. I sincerly hope you're enjoying yourself at school, it was good to hear from you again. Also, write to me the cost of the broomstick, I'll send the money to the headmaster. Oh Snoopy, the crazy dog. Write back soon, your sister really misses you (So do I)._

_Love Dad._

_Dear Charlie,_

_It's good to hear from you again dear, I was worried when you didn't write back the rest of the week. I'm happy to hear you've made so many new friends, and also hope you're having lot's of fun. We're doing fine ourselves, I've kept your room tidy for you, and I've made sure Sally hasn't moved into it. And don't worry, she was very understanding after a short talk. I really do miss you dear, but I know this is what's best for you. I know you'll make a fine wizard, you're a good boy and I'm always proud of you. Hope Lucy doesn't blow up the whole school, and I hope you have a marvelous weekend._

_Lot's of love, Mom_

_Dear Big Brother,_

_I want you to know that while I'm mad you took so long to write back, you promised to write every day, I don't blame you for it, so feel free to not beat yourself up over it. Hogwarts sure sounds like a lot of fun, I can't believe I have to wait a whole year to go. It's not fair. And for your information, Linus and I are getting along just fine, jusy yesterday he took me on a date to the movies (He keeps saying it wasn't a date, but it was). While I'd rather not get mushy in this letter, I just have to say... I MISS YOU SO MUCH, please come home soon. And Pigpen has a crush on a girls? It's not gonna last between them. And why don't you kiss Hermione, you blockhead! I hope you're doing well, and you'd better write back straight away. Bye bye, sayonara, adios, 'til we meet again._

_Love Sally"_

Charlie Brown looked over the letter with a big smile on his face before giving it a big hug. With a great feeling of warmth inside him, Charlie Brown pulled out a parchment and quill and began writing his reply. As he began the letter he thought, there sure was a lot to write about. What with the return of the kite eating tree, gallabanting with the giant squid, Lucy's new psychiatry stand, the chaotic technology class and Snoopy's escapades, today was a very eventful day. And if Charlie Brown wasn't mistaken, every day he spent here would be just as exciting.

'And dangerous' Charlie Brown thought as mrs Norris knocked him off his seat while persuing Snoopy.

* * *

><p><strong>Tiger Lover 16: I never know how to end a chapter, that last sentence just felt awkward for some reason. Now I know this chapter seems oddly short compared to the last one, but like I said I cut a few scenes and I had trouble writing this chapter. Did you like it, did you hate it? Either way I'm doing the best I can, and I'll continue to do so until I've finished this story. What a sad day that'll be. I know this chapters not up to scratch, but I hope you enjoyed some parts of it anyway. Some scenes I think need editing, but I can do that some other time. I also want to point out a few things, one I know Hermione's not a bad cook in the books, but remember this story is a completely different continuity from the books and Peanuts strip, so some things will be different, and I just thought it would be funny. I know that Technology lesson didn't feel like a real lesson, but that was the point. Louis Mcduff's a pretty inept teacher, and he wanted to take the time on his first lesson with the gang to show off some of his work, and expected a bit too much of them on their first lesson. So naturally that didn't play out like an actual lesson. I know the scene with Snoopy in the forest seems abnormally short, I originally planned several scenes with him in the forest but had them cut because I planned to have him go in there in another future chapter, so sorry if that scene feels random and rushed. It's just to make him feel a bit reluctant to go again in the future chapter. I must admit, I'm disappointed I couldn't utilise certain characters more. Luna and Neil Malfoy I particularly wish I could have written more material for, the latter didn't even physically appear here. He'll have a part to play next chapter though. I'm glad I finally got to introduce Fred and George. I'm a little unsure of what to do with Harry here, since he's more of a prankster in this timeline in the vein of his father and the Weasley twins, so sorry if his scenes feel a bit awkward. And... well, I'm sure there's other things I wanted to say, but I can't remember now. So, thank you for reading, sorry if it wasn't as good as previous chapters and have a nice day. I don't know when I'll update again, but I'll try to be quick. I'm in college though, so I'm a busy person. Have a nice day, please review. You know, if you feel like it. Pretty please.<strong>


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